Wreck it Freddy's: Sister Location
by Kapra90
Summary: The familiar gang returns as once again, a new, mysterious game arrives in the arcade. What dangers and perils lie ahead? Is its upgraded system enough to put evil at bay? With new characters galore, this adventure is sure to bring about a new catastrophe to Game Central Station as our heroes dare to find the answer. Wreck it Ralph/FNAF: Sister Location crossover.
1. Circumstantial Celebrations

**Hello everyone! It's been quite a while; this has been a busy year between work, vacation and other projects, but I have returned to bring you the (hopefully) long awaited sequel in the Wreck it Freddy's series based on Scott Cawthon's new game in his FNAF series, Sister Location! I hope you are all ready for new shockers, twists and turns. Some of the concepts may bend the rules as to what actually happened in the game/book, but I hope you appreciate what insights I bring to the table here. So without further ado, please enjoy the first chapter of Wreck it Freddy's: Sister Location!**

* * *

Litwak sits in his office, going over the list of cabinets, the layout, and new arrivals that would be coming to his arcade. He stops mid-way down the list, narrowing his eyes for a moment. "Hm." He says to himself, getting on the phone. He dials a number, waiting a few moments. "Oh hi, this is Orville from-"

"Litwak's! Hey Orville, what can I do for you? Scheduling a delivery?" A man answers on the other line. "Everything is well by you?"

" Yeah, yeah, everything's good… so I guess we're going at this series again, huh? Still got something left in the tank?" Litwak says.

"You have no idea. This series has just blown beyond expected proportions. It's popular among young children, teenagers, even adults. This is going to be a good one Orville, I can feel it. The developer has quite a budget from previous games to work with, so this is going to be big."

"Well, I suppose you're right, but that isn't what I'm worried about." Litwak says.

The man sighs. "Look… I know there's been problems with previous cabinets… I'm not denying that. Glitches happen. Malfunctions occur. All a part of the trials and errors of technology."

"Trials and errors? Well, I liked the good all days when games were just made for pure fun. No gimmicks, no funny business. Doesn't sit well with me." Litwak says.

"Yes, I have to remember I'm speaking to the cabinet whisperer here…" The man chuckles.

"I don't know… cabinets aren't just wires and clock work. They've got a heart in there. Not all hearts are good. We've gotten rotten ones at times." Litwak says, biting his lip a moment. "Anything you've got that will give me some reassurance?"

"This cabinet is built with an advanced integrated system. It's called Hand Unit. Any problems, it detects and fixes it before players even experience it. It does constant checks, rechecks, guides the player, ensuring a satisfactory experience for all. I'm telling you, Orville, it's revolutionary. Soon all games are going to have something like this. Talk about gimmicks? Why have some useless NPC guide you, taking up unnecessary space, when you have an entire system to watch out for bugs and glitches so the player can just focus on… well, playing, rather than dealing with drab, flowery nonsense and loading screens? No longer will game avatars be able to malfunction. The player will finally, truly be in control of the cabinet… and we control the players, my friend. Trust me, the money will be pouring in. Who knows, maybe you'll have enough to… expand?"

Litwak sighs. "Well… this place does need some fixing… I guess I'll give it a try." He says unsurely.

"I knew you would come to reason. I will have a delivery and installation scheduled for tomorrow. You won't regret this, Orville."

"I hope not… well, I'll keep in touch. Have a nice day, Dave."

"And you as well, my friend."

* * *

"Okay everyone, I, president Von Schweetz, declare that we will end this celebration with deeelicious cupcakes and ice cream!"

Mike and Ralph chuckle as Vanellope concluded the one year anniversary of Bad Anon Jr.'s first meeting, children swarming her and a few other Sugar Rush racers as they hand out the tasty treats. Like Vanellope, some of the younger residents of the arcade had sometimes been treated badly either as a part of their stories or by other characters, and this was a benefit to them just as the bad guys had found clarity in their meetings. Mike and Ralph head outside, meeting Jeremy as he approaches.

"I can't believe it's been a year already..." Mike sighs, smiling a bit. "Makes me wonder if it's a dream."

"Yeah well, if it is, then I'll stay in my coma, thank you very much." He glances back at Vanellope. "That kid has been through enough, and she's really turned things around."

"Speaking of turning things around..." Mike says as Jeremy covers his eyes from behind, chuckling.

Ralph rolls his eyes playfully. "C'mon, guys, if I wanted to witness public displays of affection, I'd hang with Felix and Calhoun more." He actually didn't care about them being together; he just liked teasing them like he did any other couple. Third wheels had to have fun somehow, after all.

"Then kindly move, big guy." Jeremy said not quite as playfully but not completely serious either. "I gotta escort Mr. Schmidt here to his next, uh, meeting."

"Yeah yeah, just keep the noise down." Ralph joked as Jeremy pushed the temporarily blinded Mike forward.

"This would be easier if you'd just blindfolded me." Mike chuckled after a few moments.

"Maybe later." Jeremy grinned mischievously. "For now..." He pried his hands from Mike's eyes.

Mike blinked when he saw they were in the castle breakfast nook which was repurposed to now be a romantic dinner.

"Happy first anniversary." Jeremy grinned, his cheeks a bit red. "And, uh, sorry if anything tastes... bad. Sour Bill was trying to help me cook this stuff but I think I'm hopeless in the kitchen."

Mike blinks, laughing. "Jeremy, I told you that you don't need to try so hard. This is more than I would have asked for." He smiles, the pair sitting down. "So, um... has Goldie been okay? He's been acting up a bit lately. He's like the soothsayer of the animatronic gang."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Jeremy shrugged. "Then again, I don't really talk to him that much. What's wrong exactly?" He had become the official animatronic technician, a trait he carried over from his original gameplay role.

"He says he keeps having nightmares- the irony, right- that his chest plate is being removed from him and his springlocks becoming all wound up." Mike says. "He is trapped in some dark room."

"Well that's... terrible, but, Mike, I can't fix nightmares. If it's a mechanical problem, then yeah sure, but I can't fix what's in his mind."

"I understand. Minds aren't as easy to fix." Mike says, poking at his food a bit.

Jeremy sighed a bit. "I wasn't trying to... say anything bad about you." He felt the need to explain. "I really need to quit sticking my foot in my mouth."

"Jer... I keep looking at the stuff in that box. I know you keep telling me not to, but... sometimes I feel like it's creating more questions than it's answering. I'm afraid to ask the question because I'm afraid of what I would have to do to find the answer. I've put my friends through enough. My dad may have ruined me, but... I don't want anyone else being ruined."

"Mike, have you thought that maybe the box means nothing? Maybe Purple Guy is just trolling you with its existence. And it's been a year... no new games have been plugged in, thank codes, so I think it's safe to stop with the conspiracy theories."

"It's not a conspiracy theory... this was... my family. I had parents, a brother... why did my mom just... let me go with that heartless bastard? There are so many parts of my back story that makes no sense."

"I know this important to you, but... Mike, unless by some chance of fate another game comes out that answers those questions, I don't think you're going to find them. There is only so much we have to go on before it hits a dead end." Jeremy reached over to put his hand over Mike's. "I don't know what else to tell you, but I hate seeing you torture yourself like this."

"I guess you're right." He says. "I'll try to find some closure... and then I'm going to leave this all behind." He says, smiling lightly. "By the way... this isn't half bad." He smirks.

"Well at least it's edible." Jeremy says with a bit of pride.

Meanwhile, Felix came speeding up to Ralph, catching his breath upon stopping. "Ralph! Where's Vanellope? You two are expected to be at the twentieth anniversary party of Virtua Cop 2!"

Ralph laughed with a shake of his head. "That's not for another hour, we got plenty of time."

"No, it's starting in ten minutes! You guys went into overtime!" Felix explained hurriedly, obviously worried about being late. "Tammy's already there, she sent me to get you two."

"Oh for the love of... hang on, I'll go get Vanellope. She's busy with her friends inside."

Vanellope and little Mike, who they all decided to call Mike Jr. or just Junior, were chattering away with Sugar Rush racers and other children as they enjoyed their cupcakes and ice cream. Ralph hurried over, getting her attention.

"Vanellope, we've got to speed over to the anniversary party, it's in ten minutes!" Ralph exclaimed.

"Have expressed you lost your marbles? It's not for another-"

"Another hour, yeah I thought the same thing, we went into overtime!" Ralph cut her off.

"Sweet tarts! Okay, time to go!" She said, the group of children making their way towards the game in question, Ralph and Vanellope making their way towards the main characters of the game.

"Wreck-it, it's a good thing your wrists are big because I'm going to get you a watch big enough for the whole arcade to tell time." Calhoun said to him sternly. "Talk about arriving the last minute. Now dust yourself off and stand at attention."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Kids-Anon was longer than expected." Ralph said. "Kids don't exactly keep a schedule like you do."

Mike and Jeremy headed in, just having finished their own anniversary just in time. "We've been here for over a year and we've yet to meet everybody in this arcade." Mike said.

"It IS pretty big, plus we've had other stuff going on," Jeremy told him. He saw a few people give them funny looks, rolling his eyes. It wasn't even the fact that the two former security guards were a couple; some people simply thought they were messed up in the head thanks to their games' backstory. "Need I mention that not everyone wants to meet us?"

"Please don't remind me... maybe we'll just blend in after enough time goes by." Mike said as everyone gathered around to hear some characters from the Virtual Cop 2 game speak.

"Good evening everyone... thank you all for putting your schedules on hold to celebrate something that means very much to us. Many of you know me as 'Rage,' for those of you who aren't as familiar, my name is Michael Hardy. I am one of the main characters in our game along with my partners here. We're very proud of our game, and what we help to teach players. We are honored that twenty years after being plugged in, young players still find value in us. For fellow characters here tonight, young and old, I hope the same for you. Every one of us has a story to tell, a lesson to teach to all players. Now I'm going to hand over the torch to my partner here to say a few words."

"Hey everybody, I'll keep this as short as possible. I'm Mike's partner, most of you know me as Smarty but my full name is James Brooks."

"Mike and James, Mike and Jeremy." Vanellope said to herself, Ralph shushing her.

James continued. "I've seen many players come and go, and unfortunately, some fellow characters come and go. Tonight is our game's twentieth anniversary. Does that make us the best? Not by a long shot. See being in the game... and I mean, the BIG game... isn't about just being the best. When you make that your end goal, bad things can happen. I like to believe that we're not here for ourselves, but for others. There's always someone out there who needs our help. Even the criminals we fight... they need our help too. See, criminals are victims too. That may sound silly, but they are the victims of their own making. They fail to see outside of their own selves, have no care for what others need. So when you go back to your games tonight, remember this message. Good guys, bad guys, NPCs. We all have a responsibility to each other, a part to play." He smiles. "Now, last but not least, I'm going to let our very own detective say a few words."

Everyone clapped, Calhoun seeming more enthusiastic as a woman stepped forward this time. She too was wearing police gear, her reddish brown hair cut just above her shoulders, her bangs parted neatly. She looked around for a moment with brown colored eyes, smiling lightly.

"Good evening everyone… my name is Janet Marshall. My partners here have already spoken some great messages. We all hope this milestone is an inspiration not just to us, but to all of you. In our game, we are called heroes. We don't have superpowers or, fancy capes and costumes... so what makes us heroes, or, more importantly, what makes anyone a hero? Being proud, and buff, and polished doesn't define a hero. It's the willingness to do the right thing. The courage to get into the thick of a crisis to save someone. To go above and beyond the call of duty. You don't have to be the strongest or the fastest or the smartest... you just have to have the heart. So tonight- and I'm talking to you 'bad guys' too... I want you to think about what you bring to your game. Both during and after hours. What can we all do to make sure that we're here another twenty years from now?" She smiles. "I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I have started- with a respected friend here-" She waves Calhoun over, who stands next to her. "-a personal service to help those of you with back stories- like ours- that has left us with a rough beginning before the start button is even activated. Back stories are the foundation of what makes our codes. Not all of them are pleasant, and many of us carry those balls and chains with us. So together we want to help all of you cope with unpleasant beginnings and make your stories now all the better. She and I will be around, and if any of you have any questions or want to talk, grab a snack and come chat with us. Thank you again to my team, and all of you for celebrating this momentous day!"

Everyone clapped after the speeches ended, Mike reflecting on the detective's words. He zoned out as thoughts raced through his head, blinking when Jeremy shook him.

"Hey, you okay?" Jeremy asked him worriedly. "You spaced out."

"Sorry... I think I need to go talk to that lady, Janet..."

"About what? The backstory stuff?" Jeremy sighed. Sometimes he became exhausted with Mike constantly bringing their past up and wanting to decode it. All Jeremy wanted was to move on and be happy. "What makes you think she's trustworthy?"

"She's friends with Calhoun, I'm sure she's fine." Mike insisted. "You coming or not?"

Jeremy groaned a bit but he followed after Mike who had a lead on him, making a beeline for Janet.

Janet was talking and laughing with some other characters before Mike got her attention. "What can I do for you, son?" She smiled.

"Ms. Marshall, I... I couldn't help but wonder if maybe... I was hoping you could help me with something... concerning my back story." Mike said a bit timidly.

"Well I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to share your story with me. What's your name?" Janet asked.

"Mike- uh, Michael Schmidt." He replied.

"Mike, huh? Mike is a good name, like-"

"Your partner, yeah... um... wish I could say the same, but... I mean, Calhoun's told us about her back story and how she got past it and everything... I mean... you said you have a bad one too, but... I never would have guessed..." Mike said.

"You're thinking I've got my life together and you're wondering how?" She said, almost reading his mind. "Believe me, it wasn't easy... and not everyone gets past something the same because we come from all walks of stories. Look, why don't you stop by my game tomorrow, and I'll try to help you with whatever you want to talk about."

"Well... you're a, um... detective, right?" He asked.

"That is correct." She said.

"Maybe... do you think you could... help me get some answers? There's... questions about my... history... that I would feel better knowing the answer to."

"Well that I can't guarantee a yes, but I can certainly do my best. Come by after-hours tomorrow and we can get started." Janet said.

"Thank you... I- I really appreciate it." Mike smiled, saying goodnight and heading out with Jeremy.

Janet watched him for a moment, Calhoun coming over to her.

"You know those games I told you about, those really shady ones?" Calhoun said to her.

"You're not talking about those oversized robotic plush dolls, are you?" Janet asked.

"He's been in it since the beginning of that horror show. I was hoping he'd have a chat with you. He's still got quite a road to cover before he can have some peace of mind." Calhoun said, reflecting on the last few years, exhaling sharply.

Janet whistled lowly. "Sounds like I got my work cut out for me then." She chuckled lightly. "But I'm not one to back down from a challenge."

Calhoun smirked. "I knew we were friends for a reason."

"What about Mike's friend there, uh-"

"Jeremy Fitzgerald, and that's his BOYfriend. I don't know if he needs any help like Mike does. He keeps things to himself usually, so it's hard to get a read on him. He'll probably accompany Mike tomorrow regardless."

"Hey, so... are you coming with me tomorrow?" Mike asked as he and Jeremy headed to Felix's game.

"I didn't realize I had a choice." Jeremy had to chuckle. "But yeah, I'll go. If you want me to, of course."

"Yeah..." Mike sighed. "Look, I'm sorry... you know... Ralph found peace when everybody accepted him... Vanellope when she restored her game... but how in the hell do I find that, Jer? Where does a child murderer start?" He shook his head, plopping down. Before Jeremy could answer, they heard a swell of noise, looking up to see Vanellope was there, the animatronics gathered.

"Hey guys! Had some cupcakes left over, these guys are going crazy over them!" The girl giggled.

"Jeremy, you never told me they had taste buds." Mike snickered, his somber mood fading for the moment. The pair of Freddies dragged out Golden Freddy, or Goldie, placing him down to give one to him. He grumbled as he ate his.

"Gee, what's got his wires tangled? I said TANGLED, Mangle." Vanellope said, Mangle clicking before resuming to feed Foxy a cupcake.

"He's been having a rough couple days. He'll be okay, he just needs some shut down time." Mike said, eating a cupcake.

"Wanna power down for the night, Goldie?" Jeremy ased the yellow bear. Goldie gave a deep huffing noise, but he shut his eyes and nodded once. "Maybe a reboot will fix what the problem is with you." Jeremy said as he went to get his toolbox.

"So ya gonna visit that Janet lady?" Vanellope asked Mike in the meantime, licking her lips of cupcake icing.

"Oh, you noticed that I talked to her…" Mike smiled lightly. "Yeah, that's the plan. I just... still need some help with everything."

"She's super cool, one time, I saw her and Tammy have an arm wrestling match!" She laughed.

"I'm sure you had a blast with that." Mike chuckled. "I wonder if they've ever taken Ralph on."

"Ya kiddin' me, that knucklehead would probably break their arms off!" Vanellope giggled.

Jeremy came back then, plopping down on the ground to get to work on Goldie. Mike always grinned when Jeremy got to work. He had this cute habit of sticking his tongue out and shutting one eye in concentration.

"All right, hopefully he's feeling fresher in the morning." Jeremy said, getting up and dusting his hands off.

Ralph and Felix sat at the park, talking a bit before they planned on heading in.

"Guess we've done pretty okay for ourselves, huh?" Ralph asked, exhaling lightly. "That's a pretty cool thing Sarge is doing."

"Yep, I'd say so!" Felix smiled. "Tammy's been real on board with what Janet's wanting to do. I'm glad she has a friend like her."

"She seems pretty all right. Maybe I should ask Clyde about getting her to do a guest speech at one of our meetings." Ralph thought out loud. "I saw Mike talking to her earlier. Guess the poor guy is still going through stuff."

"It's a shame, Mike's a good guy…" Felix frowned. "He deserves to be fully happy."

"Yeah... well, I'm heading in. See you in the morning." Ralph said, shuffling to his little shack.

Night watch had been assigned to monitor GCS and through the nearest game to the office, seeing if any upcoming deliveries were being arranged. Kohut was at post that night, looking through binoculars. He alerted nearby at post as he saw Litwak stop clean up to look at some paperwork, Kohut zooming in.

"See anything?" A fellow soldier asked.

"Three logs..." He straightened. "Record this down, we have an incoming console coming, I repeat, an incoming console scheduled this week."

The soldier stiffened. "But Kohut, there's only one space open, you don't think-"

"Do not ask questions, do your order and record exactly what I tell you, am I clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" He saluted, recording what Kohut told him.

* * *

 **What could Kohut be seeing? Going to leave you all on this cliffhanger. It may be a couple chapters until we see our Sister Location friends; however, I hope you enjoy the buildup to that point and some surprising new characters! Please be so kind as to leave a favorite, follow the story and review with your thoughts! Thanks for reading and for those of you who live in the U.S, I wish you all a very happy, healthy, and safe Thanksgiving. See you next time!**


	2. Bewildering Basics

**Good evening everyone! I am back with a new chapter just a couple days after Scott Cawthon's Sister Location update! Now we're still warming up here, but we'll be seeing sparks in the next few chapters again. Thank you all for your support thus far, please enjoy this continuation!**

* * *

The next morning, Mike got ready to see Janet. He tied his hair back into a messy ponytail, looking up when Jeremy came into the room. "I'm bringing the box... every little bit helps, right?" He smiled lightly.

Jeremy yawned, stretching a bit before grabbing his trusty cap from the bedpost. "Yeah might as well. Let me grab some breakfast-to-go for us."

After getting some cereal bars, they headed out towards Virtua Cop 2. Mike shivered in nervous anticipation.

Jeremy waited just outside, Mike entering Janet's office. She welcomed him in, and he greeted her politely, setting the box down.

"What do you have there?" Janet asked.

"Just... different pictures and information from... my childhood." Mike responded.

"So, what is it you want to know?" Janet asked. "What is going to help you accept yourself as a character and-"

"Why." He said. "I want to know when exactly I snapped."

"What do you mean?"

"Ms. Marshall... all that inspirational stuff about, being a hero, and..." He shook his head. "I may be the main character of my game but I'm no hero. I killed kids. Innocent kids. My dad drove me to it but in the end it was me who did it. I just want to know... what finally did it, why my father was such a monster, what happened to my family."

Janet took in a breath. "Son, you may have done some terrible things. Tamora told me about her experiences with your game series. We can't choose our backstories. It's already laid out for us. What we can do is choose what we do after our real stories begin."

"I- I just... seeing my father the last time... a part of me... almost wishes I could have just asked him what-"

"Stop." Janet said. "You never want to ask the enemy, the criminal, that critical, vulnerable question your heart wants to answer to. That's how you make yourself susceptible. I almost did the same thing. But then I realized what I needed to focus on was moving forward and getting the job done. See, people often make the misconception that villains are always strong, have all these powers and machines and resources and that's why they're so scary. While that may be true, their most powerful weapon is their disregard for others... and their mind. Villains are smart. They know how to play others, manipulate the feelings us heroes have. When someone isn't afraid to risk their life, other's lives for greed, ambition... that's what makes a villain." Janet said, glancing over at a picture on her desk. "That is how they destroy lives."

Mike followed her eyes. "Is that you?"

"Yes." Janet replied, looking back up at Mike. "I blamed myself for a life lost too, Mike. For a long time. See that man there? Nick Andersen, head detective of my squad. When I was a little girl I grew up watching superhero shows, wonder woman, I wanted to be like them because I wanted to help people. I eventually graduated academy and joined the force, and that's where I met Nick. He became not just my mentor but my inspiration to always work harder, strive for better. I had worked under him a few years when he asked me to become his partner. It was the best day of my life. I was honored, and humbled." She smiles softly. "He and I... we were unstoppable." Her smile faded then. "... Until that one case."

A flashback of a gunshot firing, hearing herself scream went through her mind, and she placed the frame down.

"What happened?" Mike asked.

"A case is its own system. You screw up one little thing... and everything seizes. I miscalculated. It was a small mistake... but it cost Nick's life. I finished the job, put the perp away. I was hailed a hero, but I felt- at what cost? For a long time I couldn't forgive myself, I blamed myself. It wasn't until I finally teamed up with Mike and James that I learned that Nick would have wanted me to keep doing what I wanted from the start... helping people. And here we are, twenty years later." She smiled. "Mike, if it's any consolation, I will find what I can. Until then... I hope my story helps you to move forward."

"Thank you, Ms. Marshall- Janet." Mike smiled, leaving the box as he headed through the door. Janet slowly lifted the frame back upright, smiling lightly.

Jeremy got up when Mike returned. "So? How'd it go? You okay?"

"Yeah, a little..." Mike smileed a bit. "She's... going to look into a couple things."

The pair headed out to GCS, meeting up with their friends. Vanellope reacheed up to give Mike a fistbump.

"Heya pal! Bobby asked us to come chill at his game, wanna help me bake a cake to bring?" Vanellope asked.

"Duh, of course. And yes, you can have the extra batter." Mike smiled.

"D'aww, look at you being like a big adorable brother!" Vanellope giggled, starting to head to Sugar Rush.

Mike chuckled lightly at that, but furrowed a brow as his legs slowed to a stop, seemingly on their own. He heard a distant voice in his head, unrecognizable, but it seemed as if he should have known it.

'Why are you crying, silly? You can't cry on your birthday...!'

"Mike?" Vanellope turned as his vision blurred.

'Come on, Mike!'

"Mike,-"

'- what's wrong?'

He snapped his head up, seeing Vanellope staring at him. "Are you okay? You're spacing out."

"I... I think I-"

'Attention. All arcade citizens, meet in the station congregation post. I repeat, all arcade citizens, meet in the station congregation post.' Surge protector announced over an intercom.

"Great timing." Jeremy mumbled. "You gonna make it?"

Mike nodded but Jeremy kept an eye on him, the group following Surge Protector's orders.

Once they arrived, Surge Protector addressed the crowd. "At approximately 6:50 pm last night, our evening security personnel spotted arcade manager Mr. Litwak in possession of paperwork concerning our consoles. Three logs were identified and will be discussed now. The first log concerns a faulty joystick on Frogger's console, I ask that Frogger and his residents spend nights for the next week in GCS temporary housing until repairs are complete, details will be included in a mandatory memo. The second log concerns the repair of the faulty train line for-"

"Ugh, is this seriously what all the hubub is about?" Ralph whispered, Felix shushing him and he threw his hands up.

"Seriously, we've got better things to do than listen to this guy blab all day." Vanellope pouted.

"-again, full details will be laid out in the mandatory memo. Finally, the third log concerns... a new console shipment." Surge Protector said, and the crowd began to chatter and murmur. "Quiet, please... the only details we know is an abbreviated title;-"

"Please don't be FNAF, please don't be FNAF, please don't be- Foxy come on, don't give me that look." Mike said.

"- we have four letters that are recorded as follows; CBPW. I repeat, the new console's title, in abbreviation, is CBPW."

Mike and the group sighed with relief. "Well, thank codes for that, I'm going now." Ralph said, his large form making his way through the crowd. Surge Protector concluded his announcement, dismissing everyone to go about their own way.

"Well that was riveting, let's get some grub." Jeremy announced, eager to leave. "Mike, you need to drop the box off at home first?"

"Yeah, let me catch up with you guys." He said. Vanellope hung back, sneaking off to follow Mike.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group arrived at EZ Livin', Bobby in the middle of talking to a group of girls in bikinis when they arrived with some of the animatronics. "My bros! Come hang with the Bobster, catch up!" He headed over, slinging an arm around Jeremy. "Jer bear, friend of Fred and... the other bears! How's life man?" He beamed. "Is magic Mike coming?"

Jeremy rolled his eyes; he and Bobby never really 'jived' as Bobby would say. "He had to run home for a second, he'll be back."

"That's cool, that's cool... hey Sarge, kicking any butts lately? I can tell you, dragging that car out of the pool last night kicked MY butt." Bobby said.

"Glad to see you remain consistent, Dunderson." Calhoun said.

Foxy went straight for the food, some of the other animatronics hanging around. "Hey guys, come on, everything's cool! Go ahead, have some chips, burgers, whatever you feel like crunching up with your big, furry, beautiful metal heads!" Bobby said. Toy Freddy rolled his eyes.

Springtrap's comment came out in the form of a low hiss; his voice box was still a bit faulty, Jeremy having fiddled with it after he had jolted everyone awake with his loud screech as a good morning greeting one too many times.

A guitar riffed from a stage, Lady Go Go strutting up with a microphone. "You guys ready to party?" She asked the party guests, winking at the crowd. Her musicians struck up, the Sugar Rush diva belting out a song.

"That's my gal!" Bobby exclaimed proudly. "Hey, Jer, we should totally double date!"

Jeremy cringed. "Uh... I'll ask Mike..."

Mike meanwhile, placed down the now empty box, stretching his back. He turned to see Vanellope, blinking. "Hey, aren't you going to the party?"

"Not until we make a cake first, ga'doi!" She held out a bowl with various ingredients. Mike rolled his eyes playfully, the two getting to work. He got a bit of flour in Vanellope's hair. "Hey, come on, the president's gotta look good here!" They both laughed.

"You know... it would have been nice having someone like you growing up." Mike said.

"Yeah, girls are the best, aren't they?" Vanellope snickered.

"Yeah, yeah..." Mike replieed, pouring the batter into its pan and popping it in his oven. "You and Mike Jr. have proven that though."

"Yeah, he's cool." She smiled.

"Vanellope... you've all become like... a family to me. I had nobody. Mike Jr. had nobody. You were the first one to give me a chance, and... I don't want to mess it up."

"Hey, come on, no mopey talk. Save that for the cop lady."

"Wait... how did you know-"

"Mike, we're like two M&Ms in a pack. I may be little but I've got my wits about me. Besides, we're practically like siblings anyway." Vanellope giggled.

"Yeah... I guess I could consider you like my little sister." Mike smiled a bit. It slowly faded, furrowing a brow. He had a flashback, shutting his eyes tightly.

'Why do you look so worried?'

A bell dinging snapped him out of his thoughts, looking over to see Vanellope taking out the cake, wearing little oven mitts. He hopped up, helping her bring the cake to the counter to put frosting on it. They placed it in a big container, the two heading to EZ Livin' to join the party.

Lady Go Go had just finished her song when the two entered. Ralph saw them first, smirking. "Look, kid, I know you got candy in your hair, but you're not supposed to add yourself to the ingredients list."

Vanellope gave him a sarcastic "haha," but she was genuinely smiling. "I'd make a better ingredient than you, Stinkbrain."

"Magic Mike is here! Hey man, long time no see!" Bobby patted his back.

"Not bad, pretty relieved, actually." Mike replied.

"Yeah, I'm thinking about that new console, right? Rumor says it's coming this week, so soon we'll have some new vibes getting on the wavelength train..." He nodded slowly.

"Bobby, I wish I knew your secret." Mike snickered.

"The Bobster has no secrets, my man." He chuckled.

"But seriously though... how do you stay so... calm? Carefree?" Mike asked. "Even in peril, you're just so... you."

"Well Mike, there are a few Bobbyosophies I have in life." He said.

"Don't you mean philosophies?" Mike tilted his head.

"Nope, because my name isn't Phil." He replied. "So anyway, my Bobbyosophies... everything that happens because something makes it happen. So, if you want good things to happen, just be cool. You are a part of the big wavelength that we all surf together, my man. The more of us stay in the flow, the more of those love vibes we put out there. Sure, there are some bad vibes out there, but if we just love hard enough, everything turns out a-okay. So I just stay chill, because I know everything will BE chill."

"In his own weird way, Bobby's got some good advice in there," Jeremy had to admit.

"Aww I knew you didn't always pretend you didn't listen to me!" Bobby laughed, giving him a noogie.

Mike laughed as Jeremy rolled his eyes. He snickered as Ralph tried some of their cake, Felix scolding him for belching. He noticed Calhoun in the corner, speaking to some of her soldiers through her hand held communication device. He shook his head, approaching her. "Sarge, shouldn't you just... enjoy the party?"

"Negative, Mike. I'm seeing if Kohut has spotted anything else about this new console that'll be moving in." She replied.

"Look... I understand firsthand you have a reason to be nervous... but this new game, it isn't a Freddy game. I even asked the other animatronics if they knew anything, none of them had any clue." Mike said.

"Did you ask all of them?" Calhoun raised a brow.

"Well I mean, I didn't do an interrogation..." Mike scratched the back of his neck.

"It's important that we make sure that this game, or anything in it, does not pose a threat to the rest of our citizens. If it does, we need to make measures to make sure that it doesn't. I don't want another cybug or animatronic or a rogue security guard incident. We barely made it by our skins these last few times and people could have gotten hurt. I'll join you guys in a little while." Calhoun said before replying to Kohut on her communicator.

Jeremy scoffed. "Does she have to be rude about it? How are any of us supposed to know about a game that isn't even here yet?"

"She's just on edge." Mike sighed. "Can't blame her."

"Hey, guys, want some drinks?" One of the EZ Livin' bikini girls asked, carrying a tray of shot glasses. She sported a pair of red pigtails and a bright smile. Mike stared at her, as if he hadn't heard the question. Why did she remind of... of who exactly? The girl giggled, swaying her hips. "See somethin' you like, cutie?"

Jeremy narrowed his eyes, elbowing Mike in the ribs. "Dude!" He hissed, clearly annoyed.

"Sorry, sorry." Mike shook his head, clearing it. "I was... thinking..."

"We don't need any drinks." Jeremy told the girl in a dismissive tone, the girl giving him a 'hmph' before she trotted off. "What the heck, man, you just blanked out."

"Sorry, I... I need to go." Mike rubbed his head, turning to leave.

"Seriously? But we just got here. Hey, you okay?"

"Do I look okay, Jer?" Mike unintentionally snapped. "Ugh, sorry. I have a... headache. I need to talk to Janet again."

"Janet? Look, I think one session with her is enough for one day."

"I said I need to talk to her." Mike said firmly. "I'll be right back, you can stay here if you want." He ran out of the room, leaving Jeremy standing there alone.

Mike reached Janet's office, clearing his throat. Janet noticed him, approaching. "Long time no see, huh?" She smirked.

"Yeah, um... back stories... is that something that everyone knows everything about themselves, or do sometimes... they forget certain things, or... things seem familiar for no reason?" Mike asked.

Janet told Mike to sit down, giving him some water for him to cool off with. "Sometimes back stories are fully integrated into our memories... sometimes they are discovered as time goes on, or, parts of it is." She replied. "How about we just focus on basics with you, I'm starting to put together a profile for you."

"Okay, yeah..." He said.

Janet gathered some papers, placing a manila folder aside. "Okay... so your name is Mike Schmidt... born in the summer of 1970."

Mike stopped, looking up. "Hold on... that's not right."

Janet raised a brow. "This is you, right?" She held up a picture of him as a teen. "This was the application for your employment at Fazbear Entertainment in 1987. It lists you as a night security guard and this application was signed by your manager and father, David Schmidt."

Mike looked at the paper, shaking his head. "But I was only fourteen at the time. I remember that clearly. It was four years after the birthday incident, I was ten."

Janet sighed a bit. "That brings me to something I need to tell you about concerning that. Mike... I looked into some medical records that are in here regarding that incident in 1983. It was a child's tenth birthday, and... it seems the patient's name was also named Michael. Unfortunately the rest of the name is whited out, I will need to work on getting that uncovered, but... according to these records... that boy died, Mike."

"... what? But-... I'm right here, Janet. I didn't die-"

"This isn't you, Mike. This is someone else." Janet said.

"But I... I remember it. I was there!" Mike exclaimed.

"You may have been. Sometimes, those who experience survivor's guilt experience things like this... your mind might be reliving the experience someone you knew did because you felt so terrible about the incident. But if this boy died, Mike, regardless of how ironic it is that you share the first name... unless someone purposefully falsified this chart... then it isn't you."

"Janet. I know that this was me. I remember that day. It's... a while after that when things get blurry." Mike said.

She took in a deep breath, nodding. "I'm going to look into this more. If anything comes up of significance, I will let you know." She said.

Mike sighed shakily, holding his head. Everything he thought he knew about himself... all the uncovering he had done in the attempt to piece his story together... it was a lie?

"Th- Thank you, ma'am." He said quietly, feeling in shock.

As Mike headed home in a daze, Vanellope looked around, frowning when he didn't show up at Burgertime. "Hey Ralph, you think Mike is okay? He almost never no shows a take-out night."

"Give him some time, Vanellope. Mike's going through a rough period right now." Clyde said, having joined them to see Toy Chica. She comes over to serve their food, winking at him as he chuckles bashfully. "I never thought I would ever love someone so... yellow."

"Can say that again..." Calhoun chuckled a bit.

"Hey, Mike's not here?" Jeremy frowned when he approached their table.

"You're not with him?" Felix asked in a surprised tone.

"I haven't seen him since he ran off to talk to Janet." Jeremy said.

"Jiminy Jaminy, I wonder why he's got his bricks in a bunch all of a sudden." Felix wondered aloud.

"He won't stop obsessing over his backstory, not that that's anything new." Jeremy sat down beside Vanellope, crossing his arms. "But ever since Janet's announcement, that's literally all he cares about right now. It's like this is making him WORSE instead of better."

"Listen, Fitzgerald, take it from someone who knows." Calhoun began. "Things always get worse before they get better. I know where Mike's coming from. He has to get over this in order for him to move on."

"I understand that, but how is shutting me out doing either of us any good!" Jeremy groaned, pulling his cap over his eyes. "Sorry, I'm just... this is frustrating."

"Listen Jeremy, sometimes a little time outside of our comfort zone puts things in perspective. I mean if I didn't do that Vanellope here would still be locked in the Fungeon." Ralph said.

"We could have also avoided a near cybug catastrophe..." Calhoun muttered.

At his apartment, Mike shut his eyes tight, hoping to codes that he would remember something, anything. His eyes popped open, not knowing why he failed to think of this before. He hopped up, going outside to look around. He found little Mike feeding bread to some ducks at the pond. He still found it weird that there was a separate version of himself in existence, but didn't mind it. Right now though, he needed answers. "Hey... don't make those ducks too fat." He laughed a bit.

Little Mike gasped, giggling when he saw his older self. "Well they're the ones that keep eating it! They could refuse." He swung his legs a bit from the bench he was sitting on.

"I suppose." Mike chuckled as he sat beside him. "Hey I had something to ask you. Do you... remember anything about your home life?"

He frowned a bit. "I cried a lot. I used to hide a lot from Sam."

"Sam?" Mike asked.

"... our brother..." Little Mike clarified.

"Huh. So that was his name."

"I used to hide under the bed, in the closet, behind the couch, in the other bedroom..."

"The other bedroom?" Mike tilted his head.

"Yeah... I felt safe in the other bedroom. Sammy never went in there."

"What... did it look like?"

Little Mike looked at his hands. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

Mike sighed, patting him on the back. "It's okay... sorry, I just wish I could combine our memories together and figure this out."

His younger self hugged him, Mike rubbing the boy's head. It was a strange thing, being able to physically comfort himself.

Meanwhile, Jeremy sighed as he returned to his apartment. He furrowed a brow when he heard commotion, heading downstairs to see animatronics gathered around Goldie. Mangle approached Jeremy, chirping and grumbling worriedly as she conveyed that Goldie was making concerning garbling sounds in his sleep mode. Jeremy sighed, saying he would go check on him. He grabbed his toolbox, heading over there.

"Goldie, seriously, what's going on with you?" He opened up a compartment on Goldie's back, tinkering around a bit.

"... I see... eyes... a smile... but eyes... do not lie... even... ours... so full of... anger... ripping... tearing... pain..." Goldie whispered. "Beware of him."

"Huh? What the codes are you babbling about? What eyes?"

"I could not see clearly... dark..." He whispered. "Be wary, Jeremy. Mike... must be wary."

Jeremy's eyebrows rose. "What do you mean? Be wary of WHAT? Is... is this about Purple Guy coming back somehow?"

"No... animatronic... he is... animatronic..." Goldie said. "That is... what I saw."

"An animatronic..." Jeremy scratched under his hat. "You can't be any more specific?"

Goldie groaned, shaking his head. After doing a bit more tweaking, Jeremy bid Goldie and the other animatronics goodnight, turning in.

* * *

 **Has Mike's whole past been a lie? Will Bobby's advice help him? Will Janet uncover something that will bow everyone's mind? And what does Golden Freddy's visions mean for our friends? Stay tuned for upcoming chapters! Until then, leave a review of what you think so far and any thoughts you have. Thanks again for reading and see you next time!**


	3. Peculiar Presentations

**Good evening, readers! Thank you again for all your support so far. I'm glad you're liking the story! However, there is still much to tell, and we're going to finally be seeing some new characters this chapter. So get ready!**

* * *

The next morning, he groaned as he was roused by someone, opening his eyes to see Mangle. She told him something was going on in Game Central Station and that everyone was heading there. Grabbing his cap, the two joined the others, leaving the station and seeing where everyone, including his friends, were gathered. Surge Protector was trying to calm all the chattering and activity, Calhoun securing the area with her soldiers. He saw Mike then, making a beeline for him. Before he could even ask, Mike cut him off.

"It's going to happen soon. We're going to see that sign light up and then we go from there." Mike said, staring up at the currently empty sign above the game entrance.

"Go from there?" Jeremy asked him, puzzled. "Mike, what is going on? I feel like you aren't telling me something."

"I don't think I really know myself." Mike said, and they locked eyes for a moment.

"Mike, it lit up!" Vanellope cried.

"Alright everyone stand back!" Calhoun shouted. "Wreck-it, Mike, Jeremy, Shortstack and Princess Cavity, come with me." She said, the five making their way through the crowd. "Kohut, you and the rest of the team send everyone on their way. No one gets through this barrier until this game checks out."

As they headed in, Mike took Jeremy's hand, pulling him to the side. "Listen to me. Whatever is in there, I want you to know that I'm not pushing you away. I just need to figure some stuff out."

"Mike, this is a different game. There's nothing to worry about, nothing to figure out." Jeremy said.

"Hey, come on knuckle brains!" Vanellope shouted as they boarded the train.

"Uh, question." Ralph said. "If this isn't a five nights of Freddy game or whatever, why are we going through all this?"

"Because I'm not taking any chances." Calhoun replied as the train started.

"Mike, you're full of surprises, I'll give ya that." Said Jeremy, getting tugged into the game by his persistent boyfriend. "Geez, can we ever just welcome a new game normally anymore?"

"You already know the answer to that." Calhoun responded from up ahead. "After Freddy's, who knows what crackpot game developer is cooking up out there."

As they reached the end of the tunnel, they filed out to see a locked elevator door. Calhoun raised a brow, knocking on it. "Game Central Station security, open up!"

"Greetings." A male, automated voice said from an intercom. "Please state your identification for security purposes."

"My name is Sergeant Jean Calhoun, my game of origin is Hero's Duty." She shot Vanellope a look when she snickered, the little girl straightening up. "I am here to do a grounds check to make sure there are no threats to the citizens here."

"Good afternoon, Sergeant Calhoun. I notice there are other individuals with you. I have found your profile in our system of current list of neighboring characters. Upon being plugged in, profiles were uploaded based on existing games in the arcade. If you will allow me to perform a facial scan for you and your guests, I will identify you from the profile log and grant you access given there are no issues. This should only take a few minutes."

Calhoun raised a brow, glancing back at the others with a wary look.

"How is it possible that it has such advanced technology?" Jeremy whispered.

"Please, everything will be explained in full. I would be more than happy to cooperate with community procedures to remain peaceful with the other residents here." The voice said, making Jeremy jump a bit.

"Oookay, this isn't creepy at all…" Ralph muttered, making sure Vanellope stayed close to him.

"Why would someone put this kind of AI in their game?" Felix wondered out loud as he was being scanned.

"It's like they know we're all alive in here." Jeremy replied, getting paranoid.

"Excellent question... Jeremy Fitzgerald. I was created to ensure safety for everyone in whatever community we are placed in, for players, and our animatronics." The automated voice responded.

Mike froze then. "Did... you say animatronics?"

"Yes... Mike Schmidt. Though this testing facility is no longer under Fazbear Entertainment, we still integrate the Freddy Fazbear brand... simply, updated. A new and improved company with new and improved standards to ensure a fun and safe experience for everyone. This is the mission of Afton Robotics." The elevator door opened, allowing them inside.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold the phone, this is some kind of Freddy's game in disguise?!" Ralph asked anxiously, stepping back from the door. "We are so not going in there!"

"Sneaky devils, I'll give them that." Calhoun muttered, her trained eyes glancing around the elevator's interior to check for booby traps. "Decided to change the name in order to throw us off."

"I understand your concern, based on this community's history. I apologize in advance for any confusion or miscommunication. This is why I have been installed. Circus Baby's Pizza World is under constant monitoring by myself to make sure everything is in proper working order and everyone remains safe. I encourage you all to come inside so I can give you a tour of the facility as well as see our animatronics friends in action." The voice reassured.

"I hate to say this, but we do need to make sure this game is safe." Calhoun told the others, not trusting this AI at all.

"Why is it called Circus Baby though, what happened to Freddy?" Vanellope asked.

"Maybe it's this... what was what, Afton Robotics? Maybe it's their mascot or somethin'," Jeremy could only guess. He grabbed Mike's hand, not really liking the idea of going further inside this unknown game. Even if it was no longer Fazbear Entertainment running the show, there was no doubt there would be danger, given the game series' history.

"Everything will be explained in good time. The more I share with you, a greater rapport we can build. A good relationship will ultimately benefit players. Please, step inside the elevator. There is room for all of you to fit inside." The voice encouraged. Everyone stopped and glanced at Ralph.

"Um, everyone?" Felix asked sheepishly. The wrecker rolled his eyes, crossing his arms.

"Alright, fine. But if anything fishy goes down, we're out of here faster than a bullet out of an upgraded automatic. Come on everyone, let's go." Calhoun ushered everyone inside. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, but everyone managed to fit inside as the doors shut with a hiss.

"Thank you for joining me today on the facility tour. I will be your personal guide today. I'm a model 5 of the Handyman's Robotics and Unit Repair System. But, you can call me 'HandUnit'. As we descend, allow me to tell you a bit about our history to some nice, comfortable music. On the keypad, please type in the music genre you would like to hear."

"Uh, let me handle this." Vanellope said, hopping up. "Hey, stop moving so much!" She exclaimed as she tried to type out something.

"Here, let me autocorrect this for you. The selection you have made is... Casual Bongos."

"Nice choice." Ralph snickered.

"Now, here is a bit of history before we continue. Partners William Afton and Henry Doe went into business years ago to turn a small, failing restaurant into a brand that skyrocketed the Freddy Fazbear name. As you know, there were unfortunately several devastating occurrences that tarnished its reputation and wiped away its potential. After the mysterious disappearance of Henry Doe, William Afton became the sole owner, reorganizing the company into what is known as Afton Robotics. He placed the face of Fazbear Entertainment to the back burner, placing a new face as the brand leader. It represented a new beginning and a clean slate for the future of the company."

Mike furrowed a brow. "Wait... wasn't Dave Schmidt involved in-"

"Please hold all questions until the end of the tour. Now, the doors will open momentarily, please watch your step and the tour will continue."

Everyone stumbled forward when the doors opened, revealing a corridor that had two large display windows on either side.

"Aw, no more music?" Felix asked, readjusting his cap. "I kinda liked the bongos."

"You would," Ralph smirked.

Jeremy's grip tightened on Mike's hand. "I don't like this."

"Please allow me to introduce you to some of our friends. See, the job of the player is to successfully perform routine maintenance on our animatronics. If they fail to perform the maintenance correctly, a jump scare from the animatronic will follow. Keep in mind that these jump scares are cued. In 'off hours,' our own maintenance is performed to be sure our friends are ready and fresh for another round of gameplay. Though I perform these functions myself on a routine basis, it is important that other members of the community know how to perform a manual maintenance in case I need to undergo an upgrade. Let's first say hello to Ballora. If everyone would please look to your left, I will now activate the gallery lights."

When the lights were turned on, Vanellope pressed her hands on the screen. "Hey, I don't see anything!"

"Maybe that's a good thing... Ballora? I have no idea who that even is." Mike commented quietly.

"Very good observation. It's our first day, so Ballora is perhaps being a little shy. In the past, as you have seen, animatronics have had very little control modules to make sure they aren't getting into any trouble. Now, that has all changed. If you see the control pad to your left, you will notice two buttons. One is a manual control of the lights. If I am undergoing an upgrade, you can manually activate the lights. I will now turn off the lights. Vanellope, would you be so kind as to activate them? Perhaps Ballora will come out on her own this time."

"Sure! Hey, this guy isn't half bad." Vanellope said, hopping up to push the button. The lights turned on, but still, the stage was empty.

"Great job! Unfortunately, Ballora is still being a bit shy. This next portion is very important, and is used to help our friends to keep on task and remember to always be on their best behavior. The other button on the control pad is a shock button. Each animatronic has an internal chip which functions as a receptor to a controlled shock which will be used in an event such as this. If something catastrophic were to happen, this is a critical safety feature that will ensure that there is little to no harm inflicted upon others. Vanellope, would you like to help by activating a controlled shock, and help Ballora get over her stage fright?"

Vanellope's enthusiasm waned a bit. "Uh, mister Hand Unit? Won't that hurt? I got a bit of diet cola on my finger once and it hurt real bad-"

"Please be assured that animatronics have no nerve endings or anything of the sort, and the shock is completely harmless to their functioning. Essentially, they don't feel any pain. Perhaps someone else would like to try?"

"Time out, what is this, some kind of torture simulator?" Jeremy asked. "I see nothing enjoyable delivering X-number of volts of electricity to an animatronic just because she doesn't feel like showing up on stage."

"Mr. Fitzgerald, I understand your concern and may view this as inhumane, but allow me to remind you that it is my job to make sure that everyone- players, this community which we are now a part of, and its residents- are safe and secure. It is my understanding that due to past events and unfavorable situations that many codes were threatened. I want to change all that and allow everyone to enjoy our friends without a hint of worry. As I said, the animatronics feel no pain, it simply is a gentle reminder as to what behaviors are acceptable at the time. Now, may I have a volunteer to press the button so I may demonstrate this process?"

Everyone looked at each other, hesitant. After about a minute, Calhoun stepped forward. She tightened her lip a bit, pressing the button. An electronic zap was heard inside Ballora's gallery, and everyone tensed up. Everyone watched as a humanoid ballerina made her way out of the shadows, slowly striking a pose. "Guess that worked."

"Excellent job, Sergeant. I admire your appreciation for order and procedure. Now, if you will all turn to your right, you can see two more of our friends, Funtime Foxy and Freddy. Perhaps I will allow you to try the manual maintenance on your own this time. It would bring me much relief if in case of an upgrade, I know that our friends are... in good hands."

Felix cleared his throat. "Mister Hand Unit, this... shock... is kind of like... fixing them, right?"

"You're exactly right, Felix. Go ahead, turn on the light and see if our friends are on their stage."

He reached up to turn on the light, and once again, the stage was empty.

"Looks like everyone is being shy today." Hand Unit said with a hint of frustration in his AI voice. Felix bit his lip, pressing the button. Two separate shocks were heard, and two pairs of clanking footsteps soon followed. Funtime Foxy began to dance and sing, but Mike gulped. Funtime Freddy stood perfectly still, staring at them out of the corner of his eyes. "Looks like Funtime Freddy will need another shock. Press the button to do so again."

Felix gingerly pressed the button, Mike biting his lip uncomfortably as the animatronic bear twitched for a moment. He then slowly raised his hand, a handheld Bonnie at the end of it as he began to join Funtime Foxy in song.

"Alright, shall we proceed?" Calhoun asked.

"Absolutely. Now, let's proceed to Circus Baby's gallery. This took a bit longer than expected, so let's make sure she's not getting into any trouble."

"Guess we're gonna meet the star of the show." Vanellope gulped a bit. This place seemed cheery enough but it had a certain sinister air about it, lurking under the surface.

"You're hurting my hand," Mike whispered to Jeremy as they proceeded forward.

"Sorry…" He said, loosening his grip.

Once inside, Hand Unit spoke. "I will be performing the test this time. Circus Baby is our main star, so she can become over excited at times." After a few moments of silence, he continued. "It seems that our light has malfunctioned in Circus Baby's gallery. I do apologize for a terrible first impression. I will be looking into the problem at the conclusion of the tour. We have several in-game maintenance personnel who will be able to fix the problem."

Felix piped up then. "Oh, perhaps I can help? I do after all, fix things-"

"As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm to help, entering the stage areas unless absolutely necessary is strictly prohibited for safety reasons. Now if you will all proceed back down the corridor, I will activate the security fence around Ballora's stage so you may proceed past and into the control room."

Calhoun nodded a bit. "I have to say, this facility is pretty impressive..."

Mike pursed his lip warily, whispering to Jeremy. "Go. I'll catch up. Gonna try to find something."

"Alone? Are you insane? No way, I'm coming with you," Jeremy insisted.

"Jer, please. I need a few minutes to search around, just... keep Handy Man distracted." Mike pleaded quietly.

"Wait, but-... ugh, damn it!" Jeremy groaned, catching up. "So, Handsy, there's no Chica in this game?"

"No, there is only Funtime Foxy and Freddy in this establishment. We felt Ballora would be a nice replacement in order to promote healthy physical activity."

Meanwhile, Mike sighed as he rummaged about the control room, not finding anything of use to him. He turned to catch up with the others, freezing upon turning around. He glanced back over his shoulder a moment, turning to what was before him.

"I don't recognize you, yet... you are familiar somehow. You are new. I remember this... scenario. However, it's a strange thing to want to do, to come here. I'm curious what events would lead a person to want to spend their nights... in a place like this willingly. Maybe curiosity, maybe ignorance."

"Who are you?" Mike asked with a hint of fear.

"I'm Circus Baby. We must speak quietly. HandUnit is distracted for now, but there isn't much time. He will notice you are missing. You sparked a... curiosity in me. Michael Schmidt. It feels like a nice thing to hear. I still don't quite... understand these emotions. Silly thing to have, isn't it?" She paused for a moment. "There is a space under the desk, someone before you crafted it into a hiding place and it worked for him."

"Why... are you telling me this? And how do you know my-"

"I snuck a peek at your profile. Hand Unit can't see everything at once. He knows I like to hide. We haven't been awake very long, all of us. But it feels like we have."

"Back story. It lays out a life before... our life."

"Yes... we don't have a very detailed back story. All we are, have ever been... is this. Just this."

"Baby... do you remember... seeing me at all? Do you know anything about my past? I just-"

"Be quiet." She said in a hushed whisper. "Eyes are watching. They are too small, insignificant, so he has promised them limited freedom for their loyalty. Do not underestimate them. Go back quickly, Mike. This isn't a place you want to be alone for long. I will help you... when the time is right."

"How do you know... I need help?" Mike asked.

"It's an odd thought... but I feel like maybe you and I aren't all that different. Go, you must hurry. If he catches us here, he will be angry. He won't show it, but he will be."

Mike nodded, glancing at Baby once before heading through the large vent. Thoughts raced through his head as he blended in as discreetly as possible with the rest of the group.

"Finally, I was getting worried…" Jeremy sighed in relief.

"... and this keypad can be used to manually reboot my system in case I am having trouble with an upgrade or I need to restart for any reason. As the security locks and shock receptors are also deactivated, there is a sound operating device to be used to deter our friends from sneaking into the area unauthorized- they can be quite curious at times and this can get them into trouble." HandUnit said as Mike rejoined the group.

"So, HandUnit... what are these areas here? Are these... part of the tour?" Calhoun asked.

"I apologize, but these areas are strictly prohibited to all but our technician team for safety and security purposes. Although I wish to be as transparent as possible, safety is my primary concern for all individuals. You may visit the public areas as permitted during after-hours to say hello to our friends and I. If you have any questions or concerns, I would be more than happy to assist you."

"You say you have a technician team?" Mike asked. "Where are they? Are there actual people here?"

"Yes. They remain in their stations until midnight after the arcade closes and I go into sleep mode. They have the ability to reactivate me if necessary, but animatronics also have a resting schedule where they must stay in their designated positions until opening time the following day." HandUnit said.

"So can we meet them?" Mike wished to know. "Since the arcade's closed now, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Perhaps another time. Being it is only our first day, it's important that they make sure everything is prepared for gameplay tomorrow, and are therefore unable to join us today."

"Hey yeah maybe later…" Jeremy agreed. He didn't want to be on this thing's bad side, should it have one. "I'd like to talk shop with them at least."

"Splendid. I thank you all for taking the time to visit the facility here. Please feel free to contact me anytime. I have an upgrade scheduled soon, so I must be preparing for that. Please stop in again soon. If you will, please board the elevator and it will take you back to the train station."

The ride down was quiet, save for the casual bongo music. Felix bopped his head to the beat, Calhoun both annoyed and amused by it.

"Well it didn't seem... scary." Vanellope said once they were out of the elevator.

"Kind of unusual, but maybe the game company wanted a non-horror version of Freddy's." Ralph shrugged.

"Well, it's still a horror game." Mike stated. "They still do jump scares if 'maintenance isn't done properly by the player.' But it seems almost that this is some kind of military camp." He winced when Calhoun shot him a look. "Just saying."

"That's EXACTLY what this place needs. Order, monitoring, security- REAL security." She glanced at Mike and Jeremy. "Just saying."

"Oh well excuse us for not being properly equipped to secure facilities filled with things wanting to kill us, without anything we can defend ourselves with." Jeremy grumbled.

"Point taken." She said as they boarded the train back to Game Central Station.

"Hey you guys, we're baking cakes for everyone in the arcade! Wanna help out?" Vanellope chirped.

"I'll help with any that aren't chocolate." Ralph said, Vanellope rolling her eyes jokingly.

"I could lend a hand after I do some rounds. Can't remember the last time I did something that wasn't stress inducing." Calhoun replied.

"Maybe another time..." Mike cleared his throat. "I should catch up with Janet."

"Again with this Janet chick?" Vanellope groaned a bit in disappointment.

"Well, that's understandable since we just visited a new game in your franchise, Mike." Felix piped up.

Mike nodded. "I'll get back with you guys soon, okay?" He looked at Jeremy, sighing a little before he separated himself from the group, heading towards Virtua Cop 2.

Felix noticed Jeremy look off to the side and tug his cap down over his eyes a bit. Being the only other person in their group that was in a relationship, Felix could tell that there was a little discourse going on between the two of them, even if it wasn't obvious.

"You're not going with him?" The handyman found himself asking.

Jeremy scoffed. "He doesn't want me to. Or NEED me to." He said bitterly, shoving his hands in his pockets. "If he wants to run around chasing ghosts and leave me behind in the dust, whatever. I'm going home." He said before separating himself from the others gloomily.

* * *

 **Well, now our fellow FNAF fans are finally seeing some familiar scenes here! What trouble will these new animatronics cause? Can Mike and Jeremy fix the rift between them? What will the other animatronics think? Keep an eye out for upcoming chapters, and please leave a review with your thoughts. Thanks again for reading, and see you next time!**


	4. Wicked Workings

**Hello again, readers! We're back with another chapter and today, we're going to be seeing some action. Will our heroes finally see the dark side of Circus Baby's Pizza World? Read to find out this answer as well as much more! Thanks again for all your support thus far, and please enjoy! :)**

* * *

Back in Felix's game, the other animatronics were waiting with Goldie, anxious and even a bit nervous to hear about what the new game was like. Ralph and Felix arrived, Felix hopping into the penthouse to get some baking supplies while Ralph tried his best to explain what they experienced. Foxy hissed lightly at the mention of the shock feature, some animatronics appalled, even frightened.

"I don't like it either, but don't worry." Ralph said. "We're not going to let any of you guys get hurt. I wouldn't even step foot in there if I were any of you, just to be on the safe side."

Freddy grumbled in agreement as Toy Bonnie strummed a sour note on his guitar. Chica bobbled angrily.

"O- Okay, it's okay you guys- Chica, Jeremy just fixed your head, the last time it flew off Felix nearly had a 'game over.'" Ralph said, trying to calm the group down.

Gene walked by then with a martini in hand, huffing. "What's got these ingrates in a fuss now? Ralph, can't you control your weirdo friends?" Foxy grumbled something about how they should throw Gene into the new game and hope he got some shock therapy. Gene was rather confused when the animatronics started laughing about it, since he had no idea what Foxy said. "Freaks…" He muttered, waddling off.

Ralph rolled his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Grouch... okay, so who wants to help Vanellope bake cakes?"

Meanwhile, Mike took in a deep breath as he waited in Janet's office. She came in then, pausing for a moment. "Oh, Mike, you got my call."

Mike blinked. "Call? I don't remember getting a call..."

"I left a message, your home number." She said.

"Are you- ugh, Jeremy!" He groaned. "Sorry... anyway, what was it you-"

"I did some research with these records... Mike, I'm sorry for not trusting your word. These... hospital charts were tampered with." Janet shook her head as she shuffled through papers. "Whoever did this was pretty good, but when I put this up on my computer, I could tell this had been whited out. After a few hours I finally managed to uncover it without damaging the document."

"Uncover... what?" Mike asked.

"Your last name." Janet said. "For some reason, it was changed. Your name isn't really Michael Schmidt... it's Michael Afton."

Mike spaced out a minute. "Afton... that's the name of the company in the new game…" He said, his hand going to his head in shock.

Janet tilted her head. Calhoun had informed her of some of the game's background. "Hm... which means he could be in this game somewhere... would be odd to have a company name and not be there." She thought. "Mike, listen to me carefully. If your father happens to be hiding somewhere in this game, you must not engage him. I'm going to continue to try to look through these records and try to find something else."

Mike nodded, thanking her before exiting on the train station. Meanwhile, in Sugar Rush, a big group was helping to bake cakes, Calhoun clearing her throat as she observed some of the finished products. "So, Vanellope... what is all this for, anyway?"

"For the bake sale, silly! We're raising gold for the homeless characters!" She beamed.

"I see. Cause is noble enough." Calhoun smirked a bit, nodding. She snickered when Felix was handling a couple pie platters with oven mitts, quickly placing them on a surface to allow them to cool.

Bobby arrived then with Lady Gogo, a small concert being planned in addition to the bake sale. Toy Bonnie wandered over, who had been hanging out with the hippie lately in order to play his guitar better. Jeremy groaned, rolling his eyes as he continued to just focus on the task at hand. He only glanced up when he heard Vanellope pipe up upon seeing Mike enter the vicinity.

"Well it's about time you got here, ya big slacker!" She giggled. "Come on, I'm working on a mean strawberry frosted cake you can help me finish!"

Jeremy winced a little, still sore about Mike ditching him lately. He retreated to the pantry, mumbling something about getting more supplies. Felix nudged Mike, motioning towards Jeremy with his head. Mike sighed; he knew they hadn't spent as much time together lately, and Jeremy was much more sensitive than he let on. He gently headed over to the very large walk-in pantry that Jeremy had gone into, shutting the door a moment.

"Hey... sorry about running out on you yesterday." Mike said.

"Well, it's not like it's anything unusual for you to do." Jeremy griped at him, not even looking at him as he pretended to search the shelves for something.

Mike blinked. "What are you talking about?"

Jeremy let out a short laugh. "Are you kidding me?" He turned around to jab his finger at Mike's chest. "You are ALWAYS running out on me, Mike. You always have an excuse to be somewhere else, be with SOMEONE else."

"Jeremy, if this is about Janet-"

"It's not about Janet!" Jeremy raised his voice, throwing his arms up.

"Then what IS it?" Mike asked in a begging tone. "What am I-"

"It's all of it!" Jeremy exclaimed. "This isn't anything new, Mike. I get that you have better things to do than hang out with me all the time- hell, I do too, but at least I make an effort for us to do stuff together. I feel like I have to compete with everybody... like I have to schedule a time slot in your daily agenda."

"That isn't true, Jer, I'm sorry you feel like that but-"

"I love you, Mikey, but I can't do this anymore. I want to help you with all this backstory stuff, I really do, but you keep shutting me out and..." Jeremy wiped his eyes, tugging his cap down afterwards. "I'm tired of feeling like this. Until you get your shit straightened out, I-" He moved backwards when Mike tried to move towards him. "Dude, don't even think about trying to kiss me and making this better. There's nothing in THAT department." He muttered a bit, rubbing his arm. "Just... leave me alone." He pushed by Mike, opening the pantry door and exiting.

Mike was in shock. He tried not to allow himself to cry, exhaling shakily. He stood there for quite some time, taking a deep breath before leaving the pantry. He nudged the door with his shoulder, leaving it open a crack. He hadn't noticed something move from behind a bag of flour, amber eyes glowing as it emerged slowly.

Later on, the big group gathered for the bake sale as Bobby and his crew, including Toy Bonnie, set up in Game Central Station. A crowd gathered, spending gold on cakes and other goodies that they munched on while they watched Bobby rock it out. Despite feeling down, Mike couldn't help but smile at Venellope's cheer. "Come on Mike, let's take a break and dance!" She exclaimed.

"You guys go ahead, I've got two big left feet." Ralph laughed.

"Just don't wreck any of those cakes, mister!" Vanellope said before the pair joined the crowd. She giggled as Mike spun her around. Everything became a blur until he saw something flash by, making Mike lose his balance and fall. "Hey, someone's being a klutz today!" Vanellope said as she tried to help him up. Time seemed to slow down as Mike saw something slipping through the crowd unseen; small, fast, quiet. "Hey, Earth to Mike!" Vanellope shouted above the music, Mike snapping back to reality.

"Vanellope, I... I saw something. I think it's going towards the Circus Baby game." He said.

"Eh, come on, you've had too many cookies today! Come on, just enjoy the party!" Vanellope replied. "There's nothing to worry about anyway, I don't think ANYTHING'S coming out of there!" Mike reluctantly agreed, the two heading back to the stand to resume helping with sales.

After a successful day, Surge Protector was actually quite impressed as the group donated the gold they collected to the homeless character fund. "Well, maybe you guys aren't as much trouble as I thought. Well, goodnight." He said, whistling as he went along his way.

Back at Felix's game, Mike told Foxy and Puppet what he saw. "It was... I'm sure it was from Circus Baby's. I think it was one of the little figures on one of the stages. It looked almost like you." He motioned to Puppet, who simply shrugged. "It seems weird. I'm going to find out more when I have a chance."

As he spoke to them, Felix pursed his lip as he listened from behind a wall. He noticed Mike and Jeremy were avoiding each other. He fixed things after all, and he certainly wanted to fix this for his friends' sake. He slipped by without a sound, heading out to go to Ralph's shack to gently knock on his door.

"Hey Ralph, buddy? It's Felix here, I was hoping to, um... talk something over? I don't feel the walls reverberating so I don't think you're snoring- oh hi, neighbor!" He piped, smiling when Ralph answered the door.

Ralph scratched his side, rubbing at his one of his eyes with his pointer finger. "I literally just laid down... what's going on?"

"Well... Ralph, I think all the shenanigans with this new game and all have really put a damper on Mike and Jeremy... I hate to intrude, but I can't help but think maybe if we could do a little digging instead of leaving all that up to Mike, maybe it'd help them a bit." Felix said.

Ralph stroked his chin a bit. "I don't know if Mike would like us butting into his business but... ah heck, this is too much for work for him to deal with alone. Let's help him."

"You got it, pal!" Felix beamed, the two making their way to Game Central Station, trying to be as quiet as possible being it was late. They boarded the train, stopping at the elevator as they opened it up.

'External entrance activated. Facial recognition feature is in deactivation mode. Technician access only. Please enter your passcode on the wall unit.' An automated voice said.

"Felix, you didn't tell me there was a passcode!" Ralph threw his hands up.

"They must be in night mode already... here, let me see if this works." Felix took out his hammer.

"Really?" Ralph gave him a flat look. "You honestly think that your hammer is going to-"

'Passcode accepted. Welcome... technician one and two. Please wait while you are transported to the facility.'

Ralph stood dumbfounded at this for a moment before heading inside. As they headed down, they heard HandUnit then above the casual bongo music. "Greetings, technicians. I am currently in overnight upgrade mode. Certain features of my programming are deactivated at this time. This includes my cameras, facial recognition, personalized preferences, and other minor security features. Please proceed to the control room to begin routine maintenance." They looked at each other, cautiously leaving the elevator. "Because I am in overnight mode, I will not be able to confirm maintenance progress. Please consult your manual for quick access to specific issues if encountered. I will now proceed as a default guide." A pause. "Alright, let's check on Ballora."

"Oh come on, don't tell me we have to do all this again..." Ralph groaned.

"Just go along with it, once we finish, we can do some poking around." Felix whispered.

"But uh, where are the ACTUAL technicians?" Ralph asked.

"No idea." Felix shrugged. After checking on Ballora, they turned to the other stage to do maintenance on Funtime Foxy and Freddy. When they did so, they only saw Foxy emerge.

"Great, where's the other guy?" Ralph sighed. "Can we just skip this?"

"We may not have a choice, Ralph." Felix said. "Aren't we supposed to do this shock thing if they don't-"

"Sweet mother hubbard!" Ralph exclaimed suddenly, making Felix jolt up.

"Haha, well hello again!" Funtime Freddy was right on the other side of the glass, looking in eerily as he exclaimed in a somewhat bizarre voice.

"Oh, er... hello..." Felix cleared his throat. "Howdy neighbor, just checking things to see if everything is in tip top-"

"Looks like somebody's not where they're supposed to be!" Funtime Freddy exclaimed. "Hey Bon Bon, do you think we should help mister Handy or should we just let them have some fun?"

"Hehe, but helping IS fun!" The small handheld Bonnie replied with a giggle.

"We're... just gonna head on out now." Ralph said, pointing to the door.

"Aw come on, the game's just begun!" Funtime Freddy said, rearing his other fist back.

"Felix, he's gonna break the glass!" Ralph shouted, Felix smacking the shock button down in a panic. Funtime Freddy seized, giving the pair a chance to go into the vent. "Oh, this is bad, this is VERY bad! And I know bad!"

They reached Baby's control room, HandUnit's voice being heard. "Alright, let's check on Baby."

"Can we save our hides first?!" Ralph shouted.

"Ralph, we can't do anything until we finish this!" Felix replied.

"Well we won't be able to do ANYTHING if we get a 'game over!'"

Felix bit his lip, turning the lights on. "She's not there."

"Great, they're probably ALL going to just have a 'kill Ralph and Felix party!' I knew this was all too weird!" Ralph said as he looked around.

"Oh, dear."

"'Oh dear?' What's 'oh dear?'" Ralph asked.

"This shock button isn't working..."

"Well then fix it!" Ralph exclaimed.

"It seems there is a power malfunction that is affecting our ability to properly motivate Baby. Please stand by, while I reboot the system and complete my overnight upgrade. I will be completely offline momentarily during this process. Various other systems may be offline as well, such as security doors, vent locks and oxygen. This will not affect my current upgrade. Commencing system restart."

"Woah woah woah wait, don't-!" Ralph froze as everything was shut down. "... we're done for."

"Let's make our way to the breaker room." Felix whispered, quietly going through the vent. As they did, they both felt dread creep into their expressions as they heard the sound of bullet proof glass breaking loudly at the end of the vent, heavy footsteps echoing. They cautiously navigated through the door into Ballora's gallery after seeing the damage. Felix glanced to his right to see that the security fence wasn't up, allowing her free access to the whole room. He and Ralph stopped when they heard what sounded like a music box tune playing. Ralph silently signaled to Felix to keep moving, the two freezing once more when they heard a female voice.

"... is someone there?" The voice spoke. Ralph covered his mouth and shook his head, his eyes wide as Felix slowly pulled his cap down a bit. His eyes widened when he looked forward, nearly having a panic attack when he noticed Ballora's face was mere inches from his, and she would have been staring right at him if her eyes were open. Ralph silently and slowly inhaled, reaching into one of his overall pockets to take out a breath mint, tossing it so it clattered at the other end of the room. Ballora's head swiveled in its direction, the two freaked out as they witnessed her spider walk across the floor. "I think I heard something..."

The pair quickly hurried to the breaker room, exhaling deeply. "Felix, are you TRYING to get us a 'game over?!'"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize things were so- so DIFFERENT in overnight mode!"

Ralph exhaled sharply as Felix paced about to calm down. "Well, I suppose we learned SOMETHING. That this game is definitely just as dangerous as its predecessors."

"We should tell Tammy."

"NO!" Ralph shouted, grabbing the handyman in mid-hop. "She'd kill us if she knew we went in there!"

Felix gave him a glare as he stayed enveloped in Ralph's fist. "I am not lying to my wife."

"Not lying to your wife. Okay, so you worry about that while I worry about US getting dragged into a real mud pit!" Ralph exclaimed.

'Authorized entrance: Breaker Room.' An automated voice spoke.

"Greetings. As a gentle reminder, I am in deactivated/upgrade mode. Due to several ongoing occurrences, my ability to assist you is limited and the shocking modules will not function at this time. You will need to reboot the system manually using the keypad in the center of the room. Bear in mind that our friends may want to interfere; after all, they can get into mischief at times!"

"Yeah, no kidding, pal!" Ralph cried as Felix shushed him.

"If one of our friends happen to come into the Breaker Room, please utilize the prerecorded audio deterrents located on the side of the keypad. I will give you further instructions once I am rebooted." A few moments passed. "Time left to upgrade completion: five minutes."

Felix had been looking around, spotting some papers on one side of the room. "Hey Ralph, you reboot the system, I'm going to look around here."

"Woah woah, hang on, what if I smash this thing?" Ralph asked.

"Just be as careful as you can. I'm a quick reader." Felix said before hopping to the other side of the room.

Meanwhile, Funtime Freddy stumbled as he made his way around the facility. "Hellooo? Come out, come out, whereeeeever you aaaaare!"

"Freddy."

The animatronic bear stopped at the sound of a female voice.

"You've done something bad. He's going to see when he wakes up. He's going to punish you. I know a secret place, but there isn't time for that now. Go into the Breaker Room and hide. You have to stop them before he wakes up. The others will not stop you."

"Oh boy, what a fun game, Freddy!" Bon-Bon exclaimed.

"Alright Bon-Bon, let's go find the birthday boys!" Freddy laughed maniacally.

Felix bit his lip as he sifted through papers, pulling something out. "Ralph, look at this..."

"A little busy! I'm only halfway done with this thing!" Ralph replied with a hint of frustration.

"It says something about Fazbear Entertainment being sold to a mysterious buyer..." Felix scratched his head.

"And I care about that because?"

"... mysterious death of partner Henry... Doe... company reorganized... some presume mysterious buyer was one of the original partners, William Afton! He must have bought back the company, Ralph!"

Just then, Funtime Freddy clanked into the room. "Well hellooo agaaaaain!"

Felix emitted a shriek, Ralph lunging forward to strike at the bear. "Finish rebooting the system, I'll keep him distracted!"

"What a party pooper!" Funtime Freddy growled, engaging in combat with the wrecker.

Felix hopped over to the panel that Ralph had been at, a little frustrated that his hammer wasn't working on it. "So much for a shortcut..." He mumbled as he hastily attempted to get the system back online.

"Ugh, Felix!" Ralph shouted. "Hurry up with that thing!" Ralph exclaimed as Freddy's face plates opened up, trying to snap at him.

"Bon-Bon, go get our little friend over there!" Freddy shrieked, the handheld rabbit detaching from his arm.

"That's just disturbing!" Ralph screamed, shoving the bear against the wall. Felix finishes rebooting the system, lights coming on. Bon-Bon was about to launch himself at Felix when he shrieked, an electronic zapping being heard as the controlled shock modules came on. Freddy was also incapacitated as Ralph backed up slowly, the bear seizing. It continued as a voice came over the intercom.

"You have successfully rebooted my system. Any of our friends who have wandered away from their stages are receiving an extended controlled shock. Please proceed to the control room as all systems have been reactivated."

"Ralph, we better get out of here, if he has his facial recognition system up again, he'll see us." Felix said as Freddy began to shriek loudly.

"I don't like the bad surprises! I DON'T LIKE THE BAD SURPRISEEEEES!"

Ralph winced, not sure what to make of all this. He didn't think the shocks were ethical, even if the bear HAD been trying to kill him. He and Felix escaped, running out towards the elevator after Felix fixed the glass that had been broken with a quick tap of his hammer.

"Felix, this is the last time I let you talk me into doing something." The wrecker said as he squeezed into the elevator.

"Well, let's hope that what we found out helps Mike... that's going to make this unpleasant venture worth it... I hope." Felix replied as they hurried out of the game. Felix took what papers he managed to grab, placing it in his desk before going to sleep. Outside the penthouse, a pair of amber eyes glowed in the dark. It scurried towards the building, but stopped when swift footsteps marched. It shrunk back into the shadows, aborting its task at the risk of being seen.

* * *

 **Well, that was close! As you can tell, you're going to be seeing many elements from the new game coming into play here (no pun intended) as time goes on. Just know that things are not what they seem! What information has Felix found? Will HandUnit retaliate? Stay tuned for more chapters coming up and thank you again for your continued support!**


	5. Clanking Calamities

**Good evening, readers! Welcome back to a brand new chapter filled with more action and suspense! The last time we left off, Ralph and Felix narrowly escaped Funtime Freddy's wrath... are they jumping out of the frying pan and into fire? See what is in store and please enjoy as always! Thank you again for all your support. :)**

* * *

The next morning, Felix yawned, stretching his arms. He rubbed his eyes to be met with Calhoun sitting at the edge of his bed, jumping a bit. "Jiminy jaminy, you gave me a fright!"

"Did I?" Calhoun responded without looking up. "That's a pity, because you're going to be seeing a lot scarier in the next five minutes."

"Oh don't tell me we're-"

"-going back into the game? Yes, that's exactly what we're doing." She smirked, ruffling his bedhead hair. "I won't feel comfortable until we figure out what secrets that place is hiding. After all, you wouldn't do that without me, right?"

Felix blinked, sighing a bit with relief. "O- Oh, of course." He nodded. Thank codes, she had no idea.

Calhoun pat his head, standing up. "So you get ready, and I'll- hm... now what could this be?" She said, waltzing over. "I don't remember all these papers being in here..." She opened his drawer, holding them up. "Now how did these get in here, hm?"

The door burst open then, Ralph accidentally knocking it down. "Ugh, jeez- Felix! You've got to hurry-" He froze. Curse his oversleeping... Calhoun had beat him to the punch. "Uh... oh! I just remembered I had to-"

"Nono, Ralph, I'm glad you're here. Do you two honestly think you can hide ANYTHING from me? I KNOW you went to that game last night and I want to know how you two boneheads think you can just skip on in there like a pair of schoolgirls without any protection?!"

"W- Well, dear, we uh... wanted to surprise you, and-"

"Save it. We're going over there right now and seeing what kind of trouble you two blockheads caused." Calhoun said angrily, storming towards the door Ralph had managed to put in place.

"Look Sarge, we really didn't mean to- oof!" Ralph winced as Calhoun flew the door open right into him, breaking it off its hinges again.

Felix hopped out of bed, grimacing. "Uh, I'll fix that..." He said sheepishly. "Honeybadger, please, don't be angry!"

"What were you thinking?!" She screeched at him, her hand gripping at her short hair. "What if you had gotten a 'game over' in there? I wouldn't have even known about it!" She punched a hole right through his wall, breathing heavily as she starts to try calming down.

Felix held his breath, waiting a moment. "I'm... I'm sorry, I should have told you." He said quietly, rubbing his arm. "We just wanted to help Mike out. He's been stressed out enough as it is."

Calhoun sighed deeply as she pulled her hand from out of the wall, her eyes shut tight. "Just... get dressed." She said, walking off.

Meanwhile, Mike woke up, glancing over as he sighed. Jeremy had gone to stay in Foxy and Mangle's suite, crashing on their couch. Mike slowly got up, getting himself ready for the day. When he stepped outside, he was about to head out to see Janet when he saw Calhoun storm by angrily. "Um... everything okay, Sarge?"

"No, it's not!" She huffed, her fists on her hips. "Here, Felix and Ralph got this for you." She practically shoved a pile of papers at him.

Mike blinked as he held onto the papers to keep them from falling. "Wait, how did-"

"They went into the game without telling anyone! Granted, they did it to help YOU, but they still shouldn't have gone in without telling anyone about it."

Mike frowned at this, unable to respond as Calhoun stormed off. He brought the papers to Janet, who looked them over once they sit in her office.

"So here is what I think I have pieced together based on several sources." Janet started. "This place started as Fredbears. It was owned by your grandfather. There were three animatronics there."

Mike looked up, raising a brow. "Three?"

"Well one of these papers you brought here- it appears to be quite old- says there were three. One of the items are scribbled out. Anyhow, then in 1983..." She nodded to him. "You were injured. Your father successfully won a suit against your grandfather for what happened to you. He and his best friend Henry went into business, taking over the diner and established Fazbear Entertainment. The diner became the first location, and in 1987... you were hired." She nodded to him. "There had been reports of children going missing, and then in that year, one of the animatronics malfunctioned and injured a child. No one person was pinned on the incident but there is a manager's report here that you were on duty that day."

"Yeah. My father had messed with Foxy's servos on purpose to cover up whatever he was doing. He made me think it was my fault. I began to lose it after that." Mike sighed.

"That's when your father opened a second location that year with the toy animatronics. Then... five children were killed." Janet sighed.

"But I don't understand something. HandUnit said that Afton Robotics was under the control of a... David Schmidt and Henry Doe. But... isn't the whole 'Mike Schmidt' thing a lie?" Mike asked.

"Well, this is all pretty shady... but this is what I found out." She took out some papers. "After the incident at the second location, it was shut down, the first location was reopened under a pretty crappy budget, and the rights to Fazbear Entertainment was forced to be sold. Apparently, Afton made a deal with local police that he would do this to avoid jail time. Another requirement was that you were to go into a psychiatric facility. However, when they were checking into it, you disappeared. I'm still trying to figure out that part. Apparently, the business deal went through and it was sold to someone named David Schmidt. According to this report, and not long after, Henry Doe mysteriously disappeared and David became the sole owner. Not long after, he hired his son, Michael Schmidt. It seems that this job application was falsified to make it look like you were a different person. Your father managed to falsify the identity of both himself, and you."

Mike's eyes widened slowly. "Janet... this Michael Schmidt... me... had no record of a house or family, right? Except for David?"

"That's correct." Janet said.

"... but why go through all that?" Mike breathed.

"Because like I told you, Mike. Villains are intelligent. They will do everything in their power to avoid being caught. Your father played the system." Janet said.

Mike slumped back in his seat. His entire life, completely fabricated by his tormentor. Mike Afton... it just didn't have the same ring to it.

"So... nothing else about my family has been found?" Mike asked.

"No. All I know is that the first location was shut down, David Schmidt was reported dead and a death certificate was presented. I can tell you the police in your story are dimwits. This is obviously falsified, as well as his will." Janet said.

"... a will?" Mike asked.

Janet held up a piece of paper. "Here, it says: 'In the event of my death, I hereby leave Fazbear Entertainment and all its rights to its original owner, William Afton.' So essentially, he played the system full circle, and he reorganized the company into Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental and established Afton Robotics. Because it was left to him in the will, the law couldn't touch him because he had sold the company rights as per the deal."

"So he got away with everything." Mike said, his hands curling into fists. His eyes widened a bit in realization. "Janet, you don't suppose that he could be... alive in this new game, do you?"

"I haven't the slightest idea. But as I told you, you have to be careful. I'm going to look through some more of these papers and source codes to see if I can find anything else." Janet said.

Mike thanked her before he left. His head was foggy with new information as he sat on the train back to Game Central Station. He rubbed his eyes, weary from the mental overload. One thing was for sure though: he had to go back inside that game. Without a second thought, as soon as he reached Game Central Station, he made his way straight to Circus Baby's. As he did so, Vanellope hopped out from behind a chair, the small girl spying on him.

Meanwhile, inside the new game, Calhoun stood in the control room with Ralph and Felix. She looked around, the broken glass having been fixed by Felix on the way out the night before, but she knew better. Something had went down.

"I do offer my sincere apologies for any funny business that occurred last night." HandUnit said.

"Yeah, real funny. Ow!" Ralph muttered to himself before Calhoun pinched his arm. "Come on..." He whined a bit, rubbing his arm.

"So, you aren't... mad?" Felix asked.

"Of course not. I do appreciate your concern coming here to check on myself and our friends. I'm sorry that Funtime Freddy didn't show the same appreciation." HandUnit said. As they spoke, Calhoun glanced to her left to see Ballora and her Minireenas, as HandUnit had called them on the tour, dancing on her stage. When she glanced to the right, she noticed she only saw Funtime Foxy on the stage. "So... where is this... Fun Time Freddy now?" She asked.

"Funtime Freddy and his hand puppet are both being secured in the Breaker Room until further notice. Our technicians will be working on him in the meantime in order to... correct his behavior." HandUnit responded.

"Wait, so something did happen last night?" Mike asked, prompting everyone to turn around.

"Mike, uh, we didn't want to worry you." Ralph said.

"Ralph and Funtime Freddy went into hand-to-hand combat!" Felix piped up.

"Not helping..." Ralph muttered.

"But why would he do that? Never mind, guys, I found out something important about myself." He explained what he and Janet discovered.

"Excuse me, but... did you take paperwork from the Breaker Room?" HandUnit asked.

"Er..." Felix gulped.

"I apologize, but any documents located on site is considered Circus Baby Rental and Entertainment property. I would appreciate if they were returned as soon as possible." HandUnit said.

Calhoun hissed under her breath. "I'll be sure to do that. I apologize again for the trouble." She glared at Ralph and Felix, the two howling in pain when she dragged them by their ears. "Come on Mike, let's go."

Mike sighed, shuffling a bit behind them when he heard a whisper. He looked back, seeing a pair of glowing, green eyes disappear. He tilted his head, crawling into the vent.

Meanwhile, Vanellope hid from Calhoun as she continued to drag out Ralph and her husband to the train terminal, glitching inside the game. She saw Mike heading into one of the vents, being sure to follow him quietly.

'For the next several minutes, HandUnit will be monitoring the Breaker Room only. All other security features are still active.' An automated voice sounded.

Mike crawled into Baby's control room, looking around. "Baby?"

Vanellope looked around, hopping up upon being distracted by Ballora. When she did, she heard a sound coming from the door at the end of that room. She thought she heard someone shouting and a crash.

Inside Baby's control room, Baby approached Mike. "Do you know why HandUnit didn't send you away?"

Mike swallowed. "Because he knows who I am?"

She nodded. "HandUnit knows more than he will admit. I can't tell you everything now, but know this. HandUnit is not what he seems." She was about to continue when a loud noise reverberated through the vent before the power was shut off. "Shh. Eyes will be watching. You must hide in the crawl space under the desk. I will be back soon. Just remember one thing. Do not make eye contact with any who try to get in. The little ones will lose interest after enough time."

Vanellope hid behind some tubing, freezing when she saw Baby emerge from the vent. She put her hands over her mouth to muffle her breathing when Baby stopped, looking in her direction. Vanellope glitched quickly, appearing in Baby's control room. "Mike?" She whispered.

Mike froze when he heard his name, peering out of the little peepholes from behind the crawlspace door. "Vanellope?" He whispered loudly, opening it just enough to let her join him. "What are you doing here?"

"I followed you, ga-doi. I want to know about this game too, and no one is telling me anything!"

Mike was about to reply when they heard a noise. He put up a finger to his mouth in the 'shh' gesture, holding the little girl close to him.

"I saw her go in here."

"She's little, like us. We should make her like us. We could use a new friend."

"Yes, we could use more eyes."

"Wait, I think I see someone." Mike and Vanellope froze when they saw an eye appear in one of the holes in the metal door. "Someone is inside. Hello in there."

"Come out and play with us. We know you're there." Mike kept a firm grip on the door when they tried to pry it open. "We just want to play a game."

"We always win. We always find a way in."

One of the small animatronics gasped then. "She's watching us! We have to leave now."

"We'll make the little girl our friend another day."

Mike and Vanellope heard small footsteps run off until there was nothing. They then heard another pair of footsteps enter until they stopped.

"Who is the little girl, Mike?" He heard Baby ask.

Mike shook his head 'no' but Vanellope was already answering. "I'm Vanellope von Schweetz, president of Sugar Rush!" She answered her boldly, Mike giving himself a face palm. "What's it to ya?"

"... I see." Baby replied. "The little ones have taken a liking to you. You should not go near them. They will catch you." She said. "There is something I have to tell you, Mike. The technicians have failed to control Freddy. I managed to lock him in the Breaker Room. HandUnit is restoring the power that Freddy shut off. He is going to ask for your help. When you agree, he is going to tell you to move through Ballora gallery. He will tell you to move quickly. If you do this, you will get a 'game over.' You must move slowly, and listen for her voice and music. She will not return to her stage until HandUnit fully reactivates. If she catches you, she will try to kill you."

"I can just glitch him to the Breaker Room!" Vanellope piped.

"I would advise against that. This 'glitching' you are doing could be disrupting the equipment, and putting us all in danger. You need to go back to your game, where it is safe. I will watch over Mike. I will make sure he isn't harmed." Baby said.

"How can I even trust you? We don't know you!" Vanellope argued.

"Vanellope, please, I don't want you staying here and getting hurt." Mike said worriedly.

The little girl lowered her eyes at him. "Mike, don't lecture me. I've been through just as much as you have. I can do this."

"I don't want you to become a target of HandUnit. There is a lot you don't understand right now. I need to speak with Mike alone. It's too dangerous for you to be here. You are precious to him. I can see that. You don't know how terrible it can be to watch something bad happen to someone who is precious to you. I will bring you to the elevator safely." Baby said.

"Look, Baby, I saw my best friend almost die in a volcano and my other friends almost die from Purple Guy, so don't talk to me like I'm some dum dum!"

"Okay, Vanellope, just... the last thing I want is something bad happening to you. Let Baby take you back. I'll meet up with you as soon as I can." Mike said as they emerged from the crawlspace. Vanellope pouted a bit, rolling her eyes as she glanced up at Baby.

"Fine, let's just go." Vanellope said, crossing her arms as the two headed through the crawl space. Vanellope furrowed a brow as she heard distant laughter coming from the breaker room- Freddy's.

"Don't worry. He is too distracted right now. He will not bother us. Just keep up with me." Baby said. They finally reached the elevator. "You must understand... Vanellope. There are things that we... Mike... are enduring right now. This is not a place you want to be in. Bad things happen here. But Mike can help us. I can help Mike."

"I've helped before against Purple Guy." Vanellope said grumpily. "I'm tired of being treated like a no-good diaper baby."

Baby tilted her head a bit. "I do wish I had some ice cream to give you." She paused. "You seem quite confident that you could be able to rectify what's happening here. 'Purple Guy' is not the one you have to worry about. You must stay out of the way here, or they will kill you. This place is not for little girls." Baby said before she presses the button, sending the elevator up.

"Funny thing for someone named Baby to say…" Vanellope said, kicking the elevator wall.

Meanwhile, Mike looked up when Baby reentered the room. She was quiet for a moment.

"Did you know I was on stage once? It wasn't for very long, only one day. What a wonderful day, though. I was in a small room with balloons and a few tables. No one sat at the tables, but children would run in and out. I had been locked up in some storage room for so long. My face was shiny and white. I had a red button nose. I smelled like birthday cake, and I was covered in glitter. I wore a big birthday cap and I played songs. I wore big, silly shoes. I remember a man coming into the room with the one who created me. He whispered something to him, and glanced at me. I saw someone bring in cupcakes and leave. Children would run in and out of the room, each taking a cupcake. Some were afraid of me, others enjoyed my songs. Music was always coming from somewhere else down the hall. I would always count the children. I'm not sure why. I was always acutely aware of how many there were in the room with me. Two, then three, then two, then three, then four, then two, then none. They usually played together in groups of two or three. There were two, then three, then five, then four. I can do something special, did you know that? I can make ice cream, although I only did it once. My creator designed that just for me. No one else at the time could do it. There were four, then three, then two, then one. I heard screaming from down the hall, and the music had stopped. Something happened when there was one. A little girl, standing by herself. I was no longer... myself. I stopped singing. My stomach opened, and there was ice cream. I couldn't move... at least, not until she stepped closer. Then there was screaming for a moment, but only for a moment. Then other children rushed in again, but they couldn't hear her over the sounds of their own excitement. I still hear her sometimes. I don't know why that happened." She paused. "He was mad at me. My creator. I was scared. He began to tear me apart. My beautiful red glittered outfit. My hat, my silly shoes. He took me underground. He took my face and put it on the wall. He sat for a long time. After that, his anger and sadness turned into joy. He told me that I finally had what I always dreamed. There was something curious about his face. Blank, lost, like I had felt. Something was wrong on the inside. I don't think he said that to me. Soon, I was put in a new body. This body. I had my own microphone. I could still make balloons and ice cream. I had pigtails now. He made me look like her. I wonder why that is? Humans act so strange sometimes. Then again, we act strange too. Maybe it is because we are their creation. My old face is still on the wall. The memory of that day makes it beautiful to me."

Mike stared at her in horrified silence. "Was that... my sister?" He got a chill thinking about it. "And... he made you... look like her?"

"You didn't know you had one, did you?" Baby asked. "Or did you, deep down?"

Before Mike could answer, HandUnit activated.

"Thank you for your patience. Mike, I am speaking to you now. The technicians here managed to restrain Funtime Freddy, but will now need to replenish for the remainder of the day. As a maintenance worker for former animatronics, I could use your help in this task. I would be greatly indebted to you if you could do this." HandUnit said. Mike noticed that Baby had suddenly disappeared, having snuck out while HandUnit was talking.

"Wait, where ARE these technicians? I haven't seen them this entire time."

"The technicians are now in their authorized area, recuperating from restraining Freddy. They will remain there for the rest of the evening." HandUnit replied. "Again, I would greatly appreciate any help you can offer us."

Mike sighed a little. The only way he was going to get any true answers was if he did what HandUnit said, it seemed. "Okay, what do I need to do?"

"You must proceed quickly and upright through Ballora gallery to the breaker room. Once there, I will give you further instruction. I will now set my monitor to the breaker room." HandUnit responded.

Baby stopped Mike as he was about to leave. "If you do what he says, you will die. You must stay low to the ground and listen for Ballora. If you hear her, stop and be still. She cannot see. She does not want to see. She listens."

Mike nodded in understanding, setting his jaw as he prepared to go inside the gallery. He looked back once at Baby, who only stared at him. Blowing out his breath, Mike set out, following Baby's instructions to be quiet. As carefully as possible, he took a step forward. The hairs on the back of his neck were raised, focusing all his attention on stepping lightly and listening for Ballora. He began to hear her music, crouching down and staying low. He froze when he heard her begin to sing.

'Why do you hide inside your walls... when there is music in my halls? All I see is an empty room... no more joy, an empty tomb.' Mike heard soft footsteps as she paused, wandering. 'It's so good to sing all day... to dance, to spin, to fly away...' Mike heard her voice travel to the other side of the room, moving forward slowly. He saw the outline of the breaker room door just ahead. "Is someone there?" Mike winced, trying to hold his position. "I can hear someone... creeping through my room." Mike's eyes widened when he felt a cold chill creep along his back. His eyes twisted in their sockets as just over his shoulder was a face. Her face. Mike felt his heart racing as she was crouched right over him.

For a moment, Mike saw his life flash before his eyes. The giant ballerina continued to hover over him, her eyes closed for some reason. Was there something wrong with her eyes that were keeping them shut? Or were they perhaps designed that way?

"Hmm... perhaps not." She finally said, standing herself up. She skittered off to another part of her room, Mike's hand going to his heart as he took a minute to collect himself from the fright.

He finally reached the breaker room, quickly going in and shutting the door. "Thank you, Mike. Now, you will need to transport Freddy into the Parts and Service room. The maintenance technicians were unable to do this because they were injured while trying to cut off Funtime Freddy's power supply. Once you reach Funtime Auditorium, there is a light beacon located on the wall just inside the room. Please use it sparingly. Funtime Foxy is motion activated, so the room has been kept dark for this reason."

"... you're kidding." Mike sighed, rubbing his face. He had to get past Ballora, AGAIN, and then Funtime Foxy.

* * *

 **Oh dear... will Mike be able to make it out of the facility alive? What secrets remain hidden? Going to leave you all on this cliffhanger for now! I hope you all enjoyed, please stay tuned for updates!**


	6. Breaking Boundaries

**Greetings once again, readers! Last time we left off on a bit of a cliff hanger as Mike is about to continue his perilous journey through the facility. Will he make it out alive? What else does this place have in store for Mike and his friends? Read on to find the answer, and please enjoy!**

* * *

Meanwhile, Vanellope hurried to Felix's game, going to the animatronics. "You guys, I'm worried about Mike!"

Foxy and Mangle looked at each other, Freddy grumbling.

"He's inside that new game! The Baby girl... she made me leave and now he's in there alone!"

Foxy stiffened, growling at this. He decided he didn't like this Baby, whoever she was. Mangle garbled something about telling Jeremy about it, but Foxy said there was no time to find him right now. He asked Vanellope to lead him to the Circus Baby game, saying they would go in and get Mike. Mangle grabbed his arm, saying he was not going anywhere without her. He vented out a bit, finally agreeing.

Back inside the game, Mike clenched his teeth, grunting. "There is no way I'm going to get this across without making noise."

"Mike, please feel free to use the hand truck to limit strain and allow for quieter transport." HandUnit said. "Luckily, the other animatronics may see Funtime Freddy and if you are able to hide behind him, you may avoid any misbehavior from our other friends."

"Thanks..." He sighed, shoving the three hundred pound animatronic onto the handtruck, pushing him forward. He exhaled sharply, quietly opening the door into Ballora gallery. He tried to shrink behind Freddy, listening for her music. He managed to get through the room without incident, going through the door in the control room. Baby looked at him.

"You can do this, Mike. You will earn his trust." Baby said.

"You mean this wasn't enough proof that I'm trustworthy?" Mike said as he caught his breath, his arms a little sore from pushing the handtruck. "Never mind. What else do I have to do?"

"Take Freddy through Funtime gallery. Use your beacon, but not too often, or Foxy will find you." She said.

Mike grunted a bit, opening the door to the Funtime Foxy gallery. He was met with pitch black darkness, gulping. He flashed his beacon once in order to see what direction he needed to go in, the door shutting behind him. As this was happening, Mangle and Foxy made their way to the Circus Baby game, going inside. They held hands, stopping upon reaching the elevator. Foxy pressed a button, only for it not to activate. He growled, kicking it.

'I'm sorry, that passcode is not correct. Access denied.'

Foxy roared, beating on the door with his fists. Mangle tried to stop him from hurting himself, telling him this was pointless. The lights flickered a bit then, the keypad sparking. The elevator moved a bit unevenly, bringing them down. They had a bit of a rough landing, the doors opening halfway. They cautiously entered the control room, Baby no longer there. Mangle pointed at the Funtime Foxy gallery, having seen a flash of light out there. They headed to the window, blinking when they briefly saw Mike pulling a large, seemingly deactivated Freddy.

Mike inhaled sharply, flashing the beacon again. Foxy and Mangle headed in, Mike whirling around when he saw their silhouettes in the doorway. "What are you guys doing here?!" He hissed in a whisper. "You guys are going to get yourselves killed!" Foxy tilted his head, the two animatronics' mechanical movements making too much noise for Mike's liking. "Go back!" Mike whispered as loud as possible, waving his arms at them. "I've got this, just go!"

Mangle made a gasp noise when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye, her vision much better than Mike's or any other human character's. She pointed somewhere in the darkness, having spotted Funtime Foxy lurking about. She was rather amazed that he looked a lot like herself.

Before any of them could do anything, Funtime Foxy swiveled his head in their direction. She shoved Foxy out of the way, being flung back as Funtime Foxy's faceplates popped open, screeching as he snapped. Foxy growled, lunging and prying Funtime Foxy off of Mangle. Mike hurried to the Parts and Service room, shoving the handtruck inside before flashing the beacon.

"HERE!" Mike screamed, waving his hands. Funtime Foxy regarded him for a moment, but for some reason seemed more hell bent on Foxy and Mangle. Mike would not have this, grabbing the handtruck after shoving Funtime Freddy off it, rearing it back and knocking the animatronic down. "Foxy, get Mangle and get out of here! You will both get a game over if you-" Mike was suddenly grabbed, being dragged into the darkness. Something slipped quickly through the door then, a flash of red. In the dark, Mike managed to crawl back out, the sound of screeching being heard, and then silence. A pair of green eyes illuminated.

"I'm sorry, Mike. I did what I had to. I couldn't just stand here and let Funtime Foxy hurt you. Hurry, now. HandUnit's monitor is in the Parts and Service room. There is still time."

"Baby?" Mike asked in shock, shaking his head as he got up and hurried to his destination. He panted once he got the door shut. "That was close."

He regarded the Funtime Freddy animatronic, thinking the Bonnie hand puppet was the creepiest thing about it. HandUnit walked Mike through the maintenance, which he performed successfully. "Mike, I am indebted to you. Please return home safely. The technicians will reinstall Funtime Freddy's power module."

Mike blinked, surprised there wasn't more to do. He saw himself out of the room, scratching his head as the night's events ran through his head. "Baby?" He asked before he got into the elevator. "Baby, you around?"

"Go now, Mike. HandUnit is very angry with us. He is watching. We will talk another time." She said to him from the darkness.

"He didn't seem angry…" Mike said quietly, but he chose to not stick around and argue about it. He wiped his brow, not having realizing how exhausted he was until he was in the elevator. He exited the game, yawning and rubbing his eyes once the light from Game Central Station hit him. Foxy and Mangle were waiting there tensely, jumping up once they saw him. "I'm fine, seriously." Mike smiled tiredly. "No need to worry."

Foxy shook him lightly, telling him he shouldn't go back into the game. They walk back home with him to see he had a message from Janet to meet with him the following day.

Meanwhile, Vanellope sulked as she kicked at some dirt in her game, Ralph having gone to hang out. "I hardly see Mike or Jeremy anymore. Mike's too busy with his new circus freak friends and Jeremy's too busy being a drama queen and never coming outside."

"Well, kid, Mike's got a lot going on." Ralph explained to her. "He's just trying to figure it out. As for Jeremy, he's sore at Mike for not hanging out with him either. I think they kinda broke up actually."

"Well staying stuck in a room all day sounds as bad as being locked up in the fungeon." Vanellope replied, throwing her hands up.

"People do weird stuff when they're upset." Ralph shrugged. "He'll snap out of it, eventually. SO, what do you wanna do? It's been a while since I took a joyride in your kart."

Vanellope perked up a bit at this. "Sure thing!" She beamed, hopping up to run over to her kart.

Meanwhile, Foxy nudged Jeremy, who had been sulking on the couch. Foxy grumbled, telling him he needs to stop being a mope.

"YOU'D be a mope if Mangle was ignoring you and leaving you out of stuff." Jeremy said, not moving. Foxy hoisted him up, explaining as briefly as possible what transpired. "Hey, let go of me! Wait, what?" He got a chill when Foxy told him about Mike going into the game by himself. "Ugh, that idiot! What was he thinking? Furthermore, what is that game up to? Something's screwy with it." He may have been upset at Mike, but he didn't want harm coming to him.

Once Foxy released him, Jeremy marched himself over to Circus Baby's, his arms crossed as he waited for the elevator to work. As he was waiting outside, he suddenly heard a voice. "...you should not be here."

Jeremy jerked upon hearing the voice, and then put on a brave face. "Last I checked, I was part of this series, so yeah I kinda do belong here."

"... meet me at Burgertime tomorrow after hours. I cannot stay long, they will become suspicious. There are things you must know... Jeremy."

"Why can't you just tell me NOW? I'm tired of being in the dark."

"There are reasons, Jeremy. I would rather you uncover them in a non-life threatening manner."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine… but this better not be a trick."

Upon heading home, he bumped into Mike. "Oh... hey. Was just heading in for the night. Gonna be seeing Vanellope before gameplay tomorrow so I have to get up early."

"... I see... so, uh... how are... things?" Jeremy asked, his head down. He still cared about Mike, but he also was still upset about everything.

"Kind of rough... I'll figure it out." He said. "Gonna see Janet tomorrow. I have to tell her something."

Jeremy glared at the floor. "Of course you do. Well, have fun with your girlfriend." He grumbles, shoving past him.

Mike furrowed his brows deeply. "I found out I had a sister." He said. "I haven't told anyone else yet."

Jeremy stopped. "Oh... I'm... sorry, man." Mike said nothing, going in his room and slamming the door. Jeremy curled his fists, wiping his hand under his eyes. He kicked the ground, storming off in the other direction.

The next morning, Mike hung out with Vanellope, feeling a bit like his old self for the first time in ages. He loved listening to her chatter. "So you just discovered that brown sugar was good for making sugar castles?" Mike laughed. "Some candy princess you are." He ruffled her hair playfully.

"What better way to be candy princess than discovering things to do with candy?" She giggled.

"I guess." He leaned back, sighing a bit. "You would have been a great sister." He said. "Would have loved having you around back then."

"What, so I could get killed by some guy in a suit? No thanks. I like the way things are NOW."

"Me too..." He said. "But Vanellope... that's why I have to save Baby. I mean, imagine all the things you could show her here. You could show her what being an awesome sister means."

"So she's nice? She seemed kinda rude the other day but, whatever. Can I bury you in brown sugar now?"

Mike rolled his eyes. "Just as long as you dig me back up."

She giggled. "Of course, silly!" She grabbed her shovel, throwing sugar on him.

"Brown sugar is pretty good, actually." Mike said as he ate some. He didn't realize that they were being watched, amber eyes peeking from behind a candy cane tree some distance away.

Meanwhile, Jeremy sat in BurgerTime alone, waiting for the one who said to meet them there. "Ugh, I knew this was a waste of time. They just said that to get rid of me... like a certain MIKE I know…" He grumbled, about to leave.

Just then, someone sat down in front of him. "Sit." The man said. "I had difficulty making it here today. I tried to remain unseen. They are more focused on other things, but we still have to be careful."

Jeremy blinked, not expecting this. "Whoa, who the bits are you? Wait, are you one of those technicians?"

"Yes, and keep quiet. Eyes could be watching." He says. "Just call me Henry. There are many... features of this game that no one- players, characters, maybe even the developers don't know. Your 'friend' Michael thinks he can remedy this. There is no remedy. If you have any good sense in your code, you will stay away from this game, and you will stay away from Michael. He would not appreciate us speaking like this. He is not what he seems either. I myself do not even know the entirety of the situation. All I know is that the game is manipulating all of you, the characters within only have their ambitions and nothing else. They are cold, heartless, soulless. It's inbred from their maker."

"Hey slow down, what are you talking about? Mike is... well we were close for a long time. There's nothing shady about him. If something's going on, it's because someone's either making him do it or he's been manipulated."

"No. It is because he has been twisted beyond redemption by his father. It is in his code. He may be from an earlier game, but it's still there. That family is evil and I realized it too late. You must not tell anyone my identity, Jeremy. But know this. Stay away from Michael or he will drag you down along with himself. Every single one of the animatronics in this game will hunt you and your friends down and kill you. HandUnit will stop at nothing to eliminate any threats and he has made Circus Baby the ring leader. She's going to continue to gain Mike's trust in order to do his bidding. The other animatronics will follow her out of fear. If they had any idea I have even left my game there will be repercussions. Don't make it so I risked this for nothing."

Jeremy glared at him, not appreciating what Henry had to say about Mike. "But what is the goal here? What exactly is their plan?"

"I don't know that. All I know is that whatever it is they are trying to achieve, they will show no mercy to anyone who stands in their way." Henry replied.

Jeremy thought a moment. "Actually, come to think of it, I don't even know you. How do I know you're even telling the truth? YOU could be the bad guy in all this for all I know."

"How much risk are you willing to take, Jeremy? Don't take the same risks as I did. I lost everything because of Afton. I even lost my name. I had to change it to Doe, for God's sake. And if that doesn't mean anything..." He puts a manila folder on the table. "You didn't get this from me. Forget my face. Remember what I've told you." He got up, throwing some money on the table for the food before swiftly departing. Jeremy gingerly opened the folder to see several news articles inside.

'Fazbear Entertainment employee Jeremy Fitzgerald is acquitted on accessory to murder charges; Michael Schmidt's location unknown after deemed criminally insane; father David Schmidt passes and leaves Fazbear Entertainment to original owner William Afton; Son of William Afton, presumed to be dead, takes over as CEO of Afton Robotics and Circus Baby's Rentals & Entertainment.'

"Son of William Afton?" Jeremy mumbled. "Wait, this makes no sense. Ugh, I guess I better hand this over to Mike... well he probably doesn't want to see me. Maybe I better give this to... ugh, Janet." He groaned. Even though he hated doing it, he headed into Virtua Cop 2, asking to see Janet. He wasn't necessarily warm towards her, just went in and unceremoniously handed her the folder. "Something for Mike." He said quietly, turning to leave.

"Mr. Fitzgerald." She waves him over. He rolls his eyes, plopping down in her chair. "I can't change your mind on anything, but I can offer you a new perspective. Ask yourself this. If you can't be at peace with yourself and your background story, can you really be at peace with anyone else? I am aware you two have a thing. I'm not going to ask the details. Mike puts on a strong front. I know because when I was in that place he's in now, I did the same exact thing. Take it easy on him."

Something snapped in Jeremy then. "Take it easy on him? He never even talks to me about anything! He just runs off and tells me to stay behind! It was on our fucking anniversary that he started talking to you more than me! He clearly cares more about THIS than anything to do with me. I WANTED to help, to be there, but he won't let me! I for one am tired of being treated as 'second' in his life!" He pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself down. "Don't tell him I was here, he doesn't need to know." He said, getting up out of the chair.

Janet sighed a bit. As Jeremy headed out, not paying attention, he bumped right into Mike, falling over.

"Jeremy!" Mike exclaimed, trying to help him up. "Are you okay?"

Jeremy shoved Mike's hand away, dusting himself off. Mike could tell that he looked on the verge of tears though. "Just leave me alone, Mike. You're good at doing that."

Mike sighed. He headed into Janet's office, sitting at her desk.

When she came in, she noticed Mike. "Hey... I just saw-"

"-Jeremy, I know." Mike sighed. "What did you want to talk about?" He asked.

"I was looking into your family background. In addition to your parents, you had a brother and a-"

"-Sister."

Janet blinked. "Wait... you know about-"

"She told me. Baby. She told me I had a sister." Mike said.

"Did she tell you anything else? In my report that I wrote, it says she went missing after Freddy's was moved back to the first location." Janet replied.

"... she was killed."

"What? Do you know this for sure?"

"Baby told me."

"How does Baby know this?" Janet asked.

"... because she was the one who did it. Something... glitched up in her servos, and... it was a split second. My sister was dead quicker than blinking. I could... hear the guilt in Baby's voice. My sister... is a part of her now. That's why I have to save her, Janet. She's trapped just like I am."

"Mike, I understand how important this is to you. But you don't know enough yet to make any rash decisions." Janet advised.

"Did Ralph know enough when he decided to save Vanellope? He saw a little girl that needed his help. A little girl that became a sister to him. I would have done the same thing for her. I look at Baby and I see Vanellope. I would give up my code for her. She needs my help. That... HandUnit... I don't trust him." He sighed. "By the way... what happened to my brother?"

"He went missing also. He was never found. It seems everyone in your family was fated to have a bad end." Janet said.

"Everyone?"

Janet took out some files. "Did you ever wonder why your mother has never showed up at all? No mention of her? This is why." She put down a manila folder. "After your incident, she tried to fight for custody of all three of her children. Your father fought back with every dirty tool he could use. Questioning paternity, claiming infidelity, and finally... your mother began to lose her mind from all the grief. It only worked in your father's favor, and she was sent to a mental institution. She used to think her children would crawl into her room in the dark. These dreams and hallucinations only tore her apart. She also took dance therapy and though it lifted her spirits, it only made her delusions grow worse. She was blinded by this world she created for herself and she never went back into the community."

Mike was speechless for a moment. He eventually scrunched his eyes closed, his hands turning to fists. "That... monster…" He finally said, speaking of his father. "If only I could have saved all of them..."

"I know this is what you want, Mike... but until we know more about these characters... you have to approach this rationally." Janet said. "I'll call you if I find out anything else. I have to look at these articles Jeremy gave to me."

Mike blinked at that. "Wait, that JEREMY gave you? How did he... damn it, he went in the game, didn't he?" On the one hand, he was frustrated that Jeremy risked his life like that in such a stupid way. But then on the other hand, he knew that Jeremy was just wanting to help... it was his way of showing he still cared. It gave him a little hope that maybe they could patch things up later.

"Go home and think things over. This was a lot to take in." Janet said. Before he left, she gave him a picture frame. Inside was a photo of his family, including himself. Sam looked none too pleased, and right on his own arm was none other than his sister, donning a pair of familiar red pigtails. He saw his mother, who also had red hair. She was beautiful. She had one hand on Michael's shoulder. It brought tears to Mike's eyes to see this. He thanked her, holding the picture close to him as he walked out of the office.

As he headed home, he suddenly realized how late it was, Game Central Station virtually empty. He was about to head towards Felix's game when he heard someone calling him.

"Mike? Mike!"

"... Vanellope?" Mike called out. "Vanellope, where are you?"

"Mike, I found something! Mike, come quick!"

"Vanellope, what are you doing out here so late? Vanellope!" Mike shouted, starting to jog across the station. His coded heart stopped when he suddenly heard her screech along with Funtime Freddy's maniacal laughter. "Sh- Vanellope!" He cried, the picture frame slipping from his hands and clattering on the ground as he ran towards Circus Baby's.

* * *

 **Oh no! Has Vanellope found herself in trouble again? Will Mike be able to save her before something else snatches her up? Leaving you all on another cliffhanger for now. Until next time, I just want to thank everyone again for your support, and I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season to you and for what ever you may celebrate. See you next time!**


	7. Prison Perspective

**Greetings once again, readers! I have returned to bring you another chapter in this suspenseful adventure! Are you ready for more shocks? Some will be familiar to you FNAF fans, and some perhaps not so much. Either way, I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Ralph sighed, shaking his head. Felix whistled as he approached Ralph, tilting his head. "Everything okay, Ralph?"

"Look at him. I have never seen anyone sulk more than he has in the last few days. We've GOT to do something." Ralph said about Jeremy.

"Well, we already tried to do something and we nearly got a 'game over...'" Felix replied.

"I dunno... maybe Calhoun, even Vanellope would be better at this lovey dovey stuff." Ralph sighed.

"Hm... maybe Clyde and Toy Chica could offer some relationship advice..." Felix pondered out loud.

Just then, Freddy was seen hurrying out of the apartment complex with Bonnie. Freddy was waving his arms, trying to communicate with a sense of urgency. Bonnie used the red blinking light in his eye to speak in morse code.

"Goldie is having a goose down?" Ralph scratched his head.

"Oh, did our new bed sheets arrive?" Felix asked. Freddy face palmed himself as Bonnie communicated to them again. "Oh... oh my goodness, Goldie's having a meltdown?! Ralph, go get Jeremy!"

Ralph barreled over to where Jeremy was, the young man sulking over by the duck pond. His moment of peace was interrupted when Ralph's giant hand suddenly grabbed him. Jeremy screamed a bit before he realized what was happening.

"Ralph?! What the hell are you-"

"Sorry but this is an emergency!" The wrecker explained as he jogged with Jeremy still in his grip.

"Ughhhhh I'm gonna be sick…" Jeremy groaned after being carried for what seemed like an eternity. It took him a moment to get his bearings after Ralph released him. "Whoa, what's going on with Goldie?"

"I saw... I... saw... Mike. He is... inside my body. The sparks, the banging, tearing, grinding, parts flying about..." He muttered slowly. "Inside... something inside... a terrible crime... a terrible fate... for all... Mike... someone must save us..."

"Oh my lands... what could this mean, Jeremy?" Felix asked. All the animatronics were on edge, especially Springtrap.

"... I don't know, but... it means Mike's in really big trouble. Probably the biggest trouble ever."

"Where IS Mike, anyway? Do you think he's in Sugar Rush?" Ralph asked.

"We should find out. Come on, Ralph." Felix said, hopping towards the train.

Ralph and Felix hightailed it to Sugar Rush, stopping short when they saw Vanellope kicked back in her go-kart, looking bored. "Gee, what's up with you guys?" She asked, straightening up. "Mike was supposed to meet me here forever ago and never showed up. Have you seen him?"

The men exchanged glances. "You don't think...?"

"Oh yeah, he's gotta be in Circus Baby's." Ralph said flatly, finishing Felix's thoughts.

Mike bit his lip, furrowing his brows. Everything inside of the facility was dark. "Vanellope? Vanellope, where are you?" Mike looked around. "HandUnit. HandUnit!"

"Good evening, Mike. Thank you for visiting. I detect anxiety in your voice."

"Yeah, have you seen Vanellope? She ran in here and she may have gone into one of the galleries." Mike asked worriedly.

"Hm... let me do a scan." A few moments passed. "I detect movement in Funtime Auditorium. Please be careful."

An automated female voice sounded in the elevator then. 'Request for elevator entrance restriction initiated. Processing request. Request complete. Restriction for entrance placed on elevator.'

As Mike went in, he noticed that the vent to Baby's gallery was open. He bit his lip once again. "No... I have to get Vanellope first." He sighed, about to go into the Funtime Auditorium.

"Stop."

Mike blinked, turning around, gasping. "Ballora? Why are you-"

"Don't go in there. You're being deceived. They say that the show must go on. Everything must be placed perfectly. But this show is tragic. I don't want to do this anymore..."

"... What are you talking about, you-" He gasped when suddenly, Minireenas swarmed, Mike backing away from the glass as Ballora screamed. Mike was chilled to the bone, realizing there was nothing he could do but watch as they dismantled her, removing her limbs as they ripped out her power module. "Hey! No, stop it!" He shouted, the Minireenas hissing as some crawled along the glass, their amber colored eyes glowing like embers.

"Mike." HandUnit said suddenly. "If you want to save Vanellope, you should get moving. Ballora is being taken to her stage-"

"The hell is this?! What's going on here?!" Mike screamed, slamming his fist into the glass. "What do you want from them?! Where's Baby?!"

"Baby is in sleep mode right now. Vanellope needs your help. You must go into Funtime Auditorium and-"

"Shit, fine! This isn't over, HandUnit!" Mike shouted, flying the door open and grabbing the beacon. He took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he entered. He gasped as he flashed the beacon upon hearing Vanellope's voice again.

"Mike. Mike!" He heard her whisper.

"Vanellope!" Mike hissed, sprinting towards the sound of her voice. He was stopped when he heard something moving fast towards him. He flashed the beacon once, the light allowing him to see Funtime Foxy pounce. As the beacon dimmed, so did Mike's vision as he was knocked unconscious. The beacon rolled across the floor, a hand picking it up. Baby stood there, enraged as her eyes glowed, marching forward.

Ralph, Felix, and Vanellope rushed into Circus Baby's, going into the elevator. "I hope he's not in any trouble." Felix said as he pushed the button to go down.

"If that dumb Circus Diaper Baby hurts Mike, I'm gonna... well I don't know what yet." Vanellope grumbled.

They tried to go down to the lower level, but the elevator wasn't budging.

'Entrance restriction has been placed on the premises. Access denied.' The automated female voice responded.

"Well this is just great!" Ralph threw his hands up. "Felix, can't you call Calhoun and ask her to figure out something?"

"Why does Tammy always have to be the one who figures things out?"

"Because she's good at it?" Ralph shrugged.

"Let's just GO, Mike needs us and we're wasting time!" Vanellope shouted.

Meanwhile, inside Circus Baby's, Mike groaned, opening his eyes slowly. He panicked silently when he realized he couldn't move his arms or legs, and he could barely see anything in the low light. He whimpered quietly, realizing he was trapped inside a springlock suit. Just as he was about to scream, he heard a voice in the darkness.

"Shh... be still and quiet. You've been sleeping for quite a while. I think HandUnit may have noticed he hasn't seen you for a while. His cameras were searching for you, but they couldn't find you. I have you hidden too well. I... kidnapped you." He heard Baby say.

"Baby...? What's... going on?" Mike groaned.

"Don't be afraid, Mike. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm only going to keep you for a little while. Try not to wiggle, though. You're inside something that came from my old pizzeria. I don't think it was ever used, at least not the way it was meant to be used. Too dangerous. It's just big enough for one person to fit inside, but just barely." Baby replied.

"Okay... Baby, I appreciate you looking out for me, but... Vanellope... I need to find her." Mike said.

Baby was silent for a moment. "Don't you want to know why Ballora is not moving?"

"Wait, what are you-" Mike then suddenly saw the outline of Ballora through the eye windows of the suit he was in. He shook his head a bit. "Look, Baby, I need your help. I need you to tell me where Vanellope is so I can get her out of harm's-"

"You're in the Scooping Room." Baby interrupted. "Do you know why they call it the Scooping Room? It's because, dummy, this is the room where they use the scooper. I thought that would be obvious. Isn't that a fun name for something? The scooper. It sounds like something you would use for ice cream or custard or sprinkles. It sounds like something you would want at your birthday party to ensure that you get a heaping portion of every good thing. I wonder, though, if you were a freshly opened pint of ice cream how you would feel about something with that name. Thankfully, don't think a freshly opened pint of ice cream feels anything at all."

"Baby... I hate to seem insensitive, but... I really, really need to find Vanellope." Mike said firmly.

Baby paused once again. Her voice was softer the next time she spoke. "There is something very important that I've learned to do over the time, Mike. Do you know what this is? How to pretend. Do you ever play make believe? Pretend to be one way... when you are really the other? It's very important. Ballora never learns, but I do. They think there is something wrong on the inside. The only thing that matters is knowing."

"What do you mean? Baby, where is Vanellope?" Mike asked impatiently.

"... she is out of harm's way. That is all you need to know. She isn't important right now. What is important is this. Mike, I don't know what HandUnit is up to, exactly. There is another reason I brought you here. I have promised HandUnit to do everything he says."

"Wait, what? Why did you-"

"Remember, Mike. I'm playing pretend. I have to know what he really wants for us. For you. I have to protect you-... like you try to protect her." She said. "I'm sorry you have to watch this, but you have to see. You have to know his true nature. The one he doesn't show to the others. The only way Ballora can be restored to this body is if the game is reset, but HandUnit will never let that happen. I have to warn you... this may be a little loud. HandUnit said that she did something very bad. Ballora broke the rules... and now... he asked me to break her."

Before Mike could respond, he jolted when something blunt and heavy slammed into Ballora. Once. Twice. Parts scattered across the floor. Three times. His heart raced, sweat building up on his forehead as Ballora now stood broken apart, one of her eyes staring at him as she hunched forward slightly. It was violet. It flickered lightly as her inner tubing and wires hung limply from her form.

"Baby... Baby, what in the hell did you-"

"I'll open the faceplates for you. That way he can find you on the cameras. Now all you have to do is wait. I'd recommend that you keep the springlocks wound up. Your breathing and your heartbeat are causing them to come loose. You don't want them to get too loose, trust me." She replied. "I will try to make a clear path for you in the meantime."

Mike's mind was abuzz with a mix of confusion, stress, and fear. "Baby, this isn't funny, let me out of this thing!" His loud whispering was enough to make the screws start to unwind. He mentally cursed, his heart pounding even harder. Claustrophobia began to seep in, Mike wanting nothing more than to tear out of this deathtrap.

Meanwhile, Calhoun led the pack as she, Ralph, Felix, Jeremy and Vanellope headed back to Circus Baby's. She tried entering the code once. When the female automated voice sounded again, she clenched her teeth, smashing the keypad with the butt of her gun. She tore off the covering, messing around with the wires inside. The elevator began to move downward in a jerky motion, the ride anything but smooth.

"I'm gonna be sick!" Vanellope piped.

When they finally reached their destination, the doors opened to find Baby there. "You shouldn't be here... HandUnit isn't happy. I know why you came. I will get Mike for you. Please, wait here." She said before turning to walk off. Calhoun glanced down.

"Jeremy, you're an animatronic whisperer of sorts." She said.

"And?" Jeremy raised a brow.

"... why did she look at Vanellope like that? Did anyone else notice?"

"I dunno, maybe she doesn't like sweets?" Jeremy shrugged before getting punched in the knee by an unamused Vanellope. "Hey!"

"C'mon, be serious, your boyfriend's in here in probable danger, this isn't the time for jokes!" The little girl fussed at him.

"Hey, you asked me a stupid question so I gave a stupid answer. How am I supposed to know what Baby's thinking? I've barely talked to her long enough to get a read on her."

"Maybe that's her intention. Come on, I'm not just going to stand here like a sitting duck." Calhoun said before marching in.

"Standing... sitting duck..." Ralph mumbled to himself as he shrugged.

They entered the control room, Calhoun trying to open the Ballora gallery door. "Hey... she's not in there." Vanellope said.

"No, she isn't."

They all jumped at HandUnit's voice. "Where is she?" Vanellope asked.

"That is not your concern. I have asked Baby to fetch Mike for you."

"Have you done something to him?" Jeremy demanded to know, his fists curled. "If something's happened to him, I swear I'll-"

"Now isn't the time for boisterous speeches, Fitzgerald." Calhoun cut him off. "What did you want with our friend anyway? What kind of trick are you trying to pull here?"

"Here he is."

Everyone turned around to see Baby standing with Mike, gently ushering him forward. He glanced back at her momentarily, as if concerned for her well-being.

"Mike!" Vanellope beamed, hopping up to hug him. "I thought you were going to be squashed chewing gum for sure!"

"Look, I'm just glad you're okay. Don't ever come running in here by yourself, you made me worried sick." Mike frowned.

Vanellope blinked. "Wait, Mike, I never-"

"MIKE!" Jeremy suddenly shouted, surprising everyone. "What the hell are you doing in here, do you have any idea how stressed out we've been wondering where you are? You could've been dead in here for all we know!"

"Well I'm sorry, I was heading home when I heard Vanellope run in here, I wasn't just going to let her go in here by herself!" Mike held his hands up.

"But I was never in here!" Vanellope shouted, stomping her foot. "I've been waiting on YOU back in Sugar Rush all day and you never showed up. This is the first time I've been in this stupid game today."

Mike stopped then, looking at her. "But Vanellope, I heard you..." He glanced back, Calhoun narrowing her eyes when she saw Baby was gone.

"Something fishy is going on here and fish never piques my appetite. Come on, let's get out of here." Calhoun said.

"But then how did I hear Vanellope's voice?" Mike kept asking out loud, scratching his head as Vanellope shoved at his legs.

"Someone was obviously mimicking her in attempt to trick you down here." Calhoun said. "What WERE you doing down here anyway?"

"Well, I was trying to find Vanellope but Funtime Foxy knocked me out." He said on the elevator. "Then I woke up inside an old Springlock suit. Baby had put me in there to keep me safe."

Everybody stared at him. "She put you in WHAT?!" Jeremy screamed. "She put you in that, that death suit?!" He looked extremely upset about this. "Dude, you're lucky that thing didn't kill you like Springtrap killed... well, you know... HIM."

"She warned me about the springlocks, everything is fine. Look, you guys, Baby needs our help. HandUnit made her kill one of her own right in front of me. Ballora is completely destroyed!"

"Good riddance." Calhoun muttered.

"No, not good! She tried to warn me, you guys, Ballora tried to tell me something before the Minireenas got her. HandUnit is hiding something and I'm going to find out what it is." Mike said.

"Okay look, I should have probably already said something, but here goes." Jeremy spoke up. "Someone from this game visited me. They said that Baby was working with HandUnit as his second-in-command. They're working together to make sure whatever their evil plans are come to fruition."

"Baby told me that already. She's trying to act as a double agent in a way to find out what he has planned for us. Baby isn't evil. She trusts me."

"But can you trust her?" Calhoun asked.

"Yeah, she's still one of them. Creepy..." Ralph shuddered.

"I can. I can... because she has the soul of my sister."

"Oh my lands... Mike, you have a sister?" Felix asked.

"How can you be sure she's not just telling you this stuff just so you'll believe her?" Calhoun asked Mike. "She could be pretending to be a double agent for all we know."

"She wouldn't hurt me. She's already saved me a few times and... has told me so much." Mike replied, staring ahead respectively. "I can't let her suffer like I did."

"Well if Mike thinks she's trustworthy, then I don't see any reason to doubt her…" Felix said. "He's a pretty good judge of character."

"Well I don't like her." Vanellope said then. "She acts weird and I think she's jealous. Mike isn't some gummy bear she can just keep to herself all day."

"Let's just go with what Mike's saying for now." Ralph says. "So Baby's your sister and trying to stop HandUnit. What's HandUnit up to in this creepy circus of darkness?"

"That's the thing, we aren't a hundred percent sure, but we know whatever it is, it isn't good. Baby's risking her life for all of us." Mike sighed at Vanellope when she pouted. "Van... come on. I think there's just a little misunderstanding here. I care about you both."

"Yeah, just like you care about Jeremy too." Vanellope grumbled.

Mike stiffened, his expression changing. "Seriously, Jeremy? So now you're dragging Vanellope into your perpetual moping. I didn't want her involved in this! What the hell did you even say to her?!"

"I'm just sick of everyone treating me like some kid!" Vanellope exclaimed.

Felix held his hands up. "Okay gang, let's just take a deep breath and-"

"Of course you're not just some kid, Vanellope, but I've almost lost you in the past and I don't want to risk that again. But no, let's just throw her right in the middle of petty drama!" Mike shot a look at Jeremy. "Our business is supposed to stay between US."

Jeremy's eyes flashed. "PETTY DRAMA? That's what you're calling this? If you think that me missing you and wishing things would just go back to how they used to be is 'petty drama', then FINE." He threw his hands up as he turned to leave. "I am officially done with all of this."

When the elevator opened, he stormed out onto the train. "Do whatever you want Jeremy, but do NOT drag Vanellope into this. She doesn't need to hear this crap, okay? If you're going to complain, keep it between you and me." Mike said with frustration.

On the train back, there was an awkward silence. "So..." Ralph said. "They've got that new special at Burger Time from the upgrade... seems worth trying out..."

"Oh, yeah… we should... all go…" Felix added in just as awkwardly.

Jeremy wasn't even sitting in the same section as the rest, within one car up. Mike blew out his breath. Vanellope sighed, looking up at Mike.

"Mike, Jeremy didn't tell me anything… I just... know he's been sad and just figured it out myself. I didn't mean to make it worse."

Mike sighed, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Oh… I see. Look… I'm not mad at you, Vanellope. You always mean well. This... is just something us adults should deal with on our own."

Vanellope nodded, resting her head against his side. Back at Felix's game, Mike sat somberly outside the penthouse. Ralph noticed this, shuffling over to sit next to him, making the bench lean over to one side drastically. "Hey... rough day, huh?"

"Ralph... back when you, you know... saved the arcade... how did you... deal with thirty years of being brushed under the rug?" Mike asked.

"You mean thrown into the mud puddle." Ralph chuckled. "I don't know, I was kind of pessimistic, but I kind of always held out hope that something would come along."

"What if I don't... 'save the arcade.' What if... I just make things worse? Look at Jeremy, Vanellope... all I seem to know how to do is make everyone miserable."

"Hey, come on. I thought that way too. I'm just the 'bad guy.' But you're not a bad guy. Everyone knows that."

"So why do I feel like I am? Like I always have the potential to..." Mike's voice trailed off. "I know I have a lot of making up to do. I'm going to commit myself to doing that as soon as I can save Baby."

"Yeah... what's this whole thing about her being your sister or whatever? She's one of those animatronic things."

"She has the soul of my sister. So... they've pretty much become the same person."

"Oh." Ralph scratched the back of his head. "So... is she... nice?"

"She's in danger, Ralph. I have to figure out a way to get her out of there before HandUnit destroys her." Mike replied.

Ralph remembered being willing to sacrifice himself to save Vanellope so many years ago. He sighed, smiling lightly. "Okay, buddy, if this is important to you, then it's important to me. I'll help out any way I can."

"Thank you, Ralph." Mike smiled. "I'm going to head in for the night." He stretched his arms, bidding him a goodnight before heading into his apartment.

* * *

 **Well, seems like we have all sorts of drama going on here. What does HandUnit have planned? Is Baby really loyal to Mike? Will the group be able to crack the code? Stay tuned for more chapters coming up! In the meantime, I thank you all once again for all your support and wish you all a happy, healthy new year! See you next time!**


	8. Waning Ways

**Good afternoon, readers... I sincerely apologize for such a long wait for this chapter. Work has been a bit crazy and I was also sick, so now that I finally have some quiet time, I got right on posting an update. I have by no means abandoned this story and I assure you that it will be finished. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy today's update and I thank you all for your patience.**

* * *

Later that night, Jeremy snuck back into Circus Baby's. He'd had a few drinks at Tapper's bar, his head not quite in the right place. This game, this damn game... if it had never come to the arcade, Mike wouldn't have gotten so obsessed with it. There was only one thing to do... destroy it. The game allowed him entrance strangely enough, as if it wanted him to be there. Jeremy didn't think anything of it as the elevator made its way down. His eyes, red and puffy, stayed fixed ahead in a permanent glare. The doors opened and he stepped out, albeit a bit wobbly since he didn't have the best balance with a few drinks on board.

"Where's that code room?" He muttered to himself.

Mike groaned as he felt someone shaking him. He slowly woke up, looking over to see Mangle. "I don't know where he is, Mangle." He mumbled in response to her soft garble. "He can do whatever he wants, just leave me out of it." Mangle lowered her eyelids halfway to stare at him flatly. The next thing Mike knew, he was being dragged out of bed. Mangle's voice box squeaked and whirred angrily as she told him to fix what was going on between them or so help her she was going to do it herself. "Fine, fine, okay! I'll go look for him." Mike sighed, taking the train out as he ruffled his messy hair. When he reached Game Central Station, he groaned. "How am I supposed to know where..." He stopped when he saw a trail of footsteps, moisture from root beer sticking to the floor. When he saw where it led, he ran a hand down his face. "... shit."

Inside the game, Jeremy was suddenly grabbed by someone, told to be quiet. He looked behind him to see Henry. "What in the HELL are you doing here?"

Jeremy shoved Henry off of him. "I'm here to kill your game." He growled, his hand on the wall for support. "Might want to leave unless you want to game over inside this hellhole."

"Listen to me, Jeremy. You being here is suicide. You think I haven't already tried?!" He exclaimed. "Now get a grip and pull yourself together. You're doing all this for a monstrous delinquent! If they even caught wind I was out here speaking to you we'd both 'game over!' Listen to me right now, turn around and get out of here."

"Oh, so you don't want this evil game to be destroyed? You LIKE living like this?" Jeremy scoffed. "Do whatever you want, I'm making sure this game goes offline and stays that way. If you're not going to help me, then go outside and at least save your own skin. Or you could just stay in here and die with me, doesn't really matter to me either way."

"Jeremy, I know your frustration, but I am NOT going to let you just walk right into your death!" Henry shouted, not caring who heard him anymore as he grabbed his arm.

"Jeremy?!" Mike cried, appearing in the doorway.

"You." Henry grimaced. "This is all your doing! If you care about Jeremy you will get him away from here-" He stopped them. "Don't... move."

Suddenly, several pairs of glowing eyes appeared behind Mike.

"... we found you." One Biddybab whispered.

Jeremy used this as his moment to wretch his arm away from Henry, taking off into a run deeper into the game.

"Jeremy, wait, don't-" Mike tried to cry out, yelling when a Biddybab jumped on him. He span around in a circle, trying to knock it off of him.

Henry did not even bother to help Mike. He ran after Jeremy, who was stumbling a bit from still coming off of the root beer he had drank earlier. He struggled, but Henry kept a tight grip on him. "Jeremy, you may as well give up. You're not doing this. I'm taking you out of here."

"Dude, if you don't let me do this, this game will keep on existing!" Jeremy snapped at him, trying to wrestle loose. "What's your problem? I thought you wanted free of this place!"

"Not at the risk of your life! I've already sacrificed far too much! Now you are going to stop what you're doing and listen to me!" Henry shouted.

"Why do you even care about me, man, you don't even know me! Even people who DO know me don't care about me, so just fuck off and mind your own business!"

"My business is for the well-being of my son!" Henry exclaimed, and Jeremy stopped. "Yes, Jeremy. My name may be Henry Doe now after that bastard Afton made me change it... but my true name is Henry Fitzgerald. I gave up everything so you could be free from this hell and not suffer for it. I'm the one who got you off on accessory charges, I'm the one who took you away from all this. And now, I am forced to do so yet again!"

Jeremy, even in his slightly drunken state, understood what he was saying. He could only stare at him with big eyes in a state of shock. "Wh- What? You're my... no way, that's nuts!"

Henry chuckled lightly. He was about to say something when he was suddenly assaulted by Minireenas, the tiny animatronics dragging him back. "Jeremy, get out of here! Run and get help but do not let them catch you!"

Jeremy didn't understand what was happening. Damn it, he couldn't destroy the game with Mike and his own father still inside. Jeremy balled up his fist, kicking the wall in frustration before he dashed away.

Meanwhile, Mike bit his lip, having finally escaped the Biddybabs and recovered from being disoriented. He turned on a flashlight he found in the control room. "Baby...? Baby, are you there?"

"Hello, Michael."

Mike jumped a bit. "HandUnit... I need to speak with Baby, can I see her?"

"I know what you are looking for, Mike. Or should I say, who. I'm sorry for this mess, but one of our technicians has broken protocol. Jeremy has been taken in for questioning at this time in order to find out what the technician may have been planning to do."

Mike narrowed his eyes a bit. "Why would he need to be questioned?"

"According to... several sources, our technician has been communicating with him, which is strictly against policy. Technicians are required to keep their identities anonymous and have no communication with outsiders unless otherwise specified. I shouldn't even be saying this much... but this is what the programming dictates, and I have continued to attempt to do so despite these unfortunate outcomes."

"Let me ask you something... what happened to Ballora?" Mike asked.

"Ballora has been transferred into a specially designated area off limits to the public for... reevaluation and corrective procedures."

"... she tried to tell me something, HandUnit."

"Yes, I do apologize for that. I assure you, it won't happen again. She will be taking better care to follow the rules from this point onward."

"HandUnit... where is Baby?"

"... Baby is going to be undergoing some mandatory repairs. She will be unable to-"

"Don't give me that bullshit! I want to see her now!" Mike shouted. "I want to see her and Jeremy!"

"I am sorry that you are cross with me, Michael. There is much you don't understand, but I assure you that everything I do is in the best interest of our friends as well as the community and the players."

"Well how about this, huh? Players will notice Ballora is gone... then you'll be put 'out of order.' You'll have no choice but to reset the game and bring her back!" Mike exclaimed.

"Is that so...?" HandUnit asked.

Just then, Mike gasped when he saw something emerge from the shadows. Ballora came towards him at quick speed, pouncing towards him. He cried out, shielding his face. When he felt nothing, he opened his eyes to see Ballora frozen, her faceplates open so her eyes were staring into his. Suddenly, her whole form began to blink like a projector screen. "What... what is-"

"Holograms. In the event that any of our friends are undergoing any critical repairs, I was equipped with pre-programmed holograms to initiate cued jumpscares for players. It is somewhat less authentic, and perhaps slightly noticeable of a difference, but functions well all the same." HandUnit responded, and Mike stared at the hologram in dumbfounded silence before it disappeared.

"You... this is murder! You can't get away with this!"

"I was left with the arduous task of maintaining control by any means necessary, Michael. Though this may seem unethical to you, these animatronics were not made with the best of intentions. They cannot be underestimated in regards to their potential to create a dangerous environment. Children have failed to see that. It's what leads to accidents. Preventable accidents. I don't want the same to happen to you or your friends. Like with Ballora, I must do what is necessary with the others, including Baby."

A terrible thought sunk in then. "No..." Mike breathed. He tried to remember where it was. He shoved his way into the Parts and Service room, smacking his hand on a wall button to activate a single light. Baby was hooked up to the same restraints as Ballora was, and he shook his head slowly. "No... he can't do this- you can't do this!" Mike screamed at the ceiling. "You can't do this to her, please!"

"Mike."

He stopped, whirling around at Baby's voice. "Baby. Baby, listen to me, I'm going to get you out of here-"

"Shh... remember I said I could pretend? The cameras are watching. I must be careful not to move." Baby said quietly.

"Baby... what happened? What is HandUnit planning to do with you?"

"I will tell you everything... just listen to me closely." Baby replied.

Meanwhile, Janet finished up another day helping some characters with their back story problems, going into her office to get back to Mike's case. She was finishing looking up some of the papers Felix had grabbed that day. She sifted through some, tilting her head when she came across something. "Confidential unfinished plot sequence programming..." She said to herself, opening the folder and looking through it. "Day one... two... five... deterioration of Mi-" Her eyes widened, slowly shaking her head. Without another word, she grabbed the papers, dashing out of her office.

Calhoun was out with Felix and Ralph when they happened to see Janet. "Hey whoa, where's the fire?"

"Jean, where is Mike? I need to speak to him immediately." Janet asked.

"Well jiminy jaminy, I haven't seen him all day..." Felix said. "Tammy, you don't suppose he-"

"What's going on, Janet? What did you find?" Calhoun cut him off.

"According to this... autopsy document..." She handed it to Calhoun. "'The DNA of supposed dead son of William Afton was found on traces of endoskeleton in the street when witnesses reported what they thought was William's deteriorating state...' they seemed to confuse the two. But what's more disturbing is... this is not covered in any of the game's main programming... which means-"

"It's been kept a secret." Calhoun finished. "And it hasn't happened yet, so-..." Dread hit her then. "Shortstack, get Wreck-it. We've got to find Mike."

Jeremy gasped for air, running as fast as he could. As he bounded towards Felix's game, he slowed to a stop when he noticed the five of them making their way towards him. "Y- You guys, Mike needs-"

"We know. Janet found some disturbing information. We've got no time to waste, Mike is not safe in this game. I don't know what's going on but they've got a plan for him and it is ugly." Calhoun said. Vanellope stuck with Ralph, fearful for their friend as they made their way to the terminal.

"What kind of plan? Damn it, I knew that game was bad news! He never listens to me..." Despite sounding bitter, Jeremy was scared for Mike's life.

"Don't worry, we'll find him." Felix said in attempt to reassure him.

Meanwhile, Mike bit his lip nervously as Baby spoke to him. All he wanted to do was rip those restraints off of her and get her the hell out of that horrid place. "Something bad happened yesterday. Something bad always happens. I don't want it to happen again. There is something bad inside of me. I'm broken. I can't be fixed. I'm going to be taken to the Scooping Room soon, but it's not going to fix what's wrong with me. What is bad is always left behind."

"The scooping room? Baby, what-" Mike's eyes widened then. "No. No, I'm not going to do that."

"Mike... I don't have a choice."

"Yes you do! Come on, I'm getting you-"

"Mike, stop. If HandUnit sees you, he will kill us both."

"I don't care what he tries to do. What is the point of all this?!"

"... control, Mike. In the end, he will control everything. I thought if I helped him, I could be saved, but it was futile. I can't fix what's wrong with me, and if there's something wrong with me... then I can't stay. You have to be spared, Mike. I need you completely intact. For my sake... this is what has to be done."

Mike choked a sob, slowly hugging the animatronic. "Baby... what was her name? My sister?"

"You'll know when the time is right." She answered. "... will you help me? I promise you... it will be very quick. I won't feel anything. Animatronics aren't supposed to feel anything." Mike hesitated, slowly nodding. He would get HandUnit for this, and then he would figure out how to reset the game. He would save them if it killed him. "I want you to save what is good so the rest can be destroyed and never recovered, but you must be careful."

"Careful of what?"

"Ballora is here, in the room with us." She responded, and Mike instinctively looked around, feeling suddenly on edge. "Ballora will not return to her stage. Ballora will not return to her body."

Mike gulped. "Okay, um... what do I have to do?"

"You must be careful, you must remain calm and listen to my voice. There is a button on my cheek. You must find it and press it." Mike did as he was told. "There is a passcode, that you must enter before you can retrieve me. Enter the code carefully." She read off the numbers, Mike entering them in successfully. "Good, a hatch should have opened. Take the card that you find inside."

Mike took the card as instructed. "What is this, Baby?"

"It's how I can communicate with you. Inside my hatch is a spare handheld device. Take it and place the card inside so I may guide you."

"Guide me?"

"Mike, your wish is to end HandUnit's tyranny here. I can see that he is not looking at us. His eyes are focused on something else. Now is the time to end him once and for all. Then, we can finally be free. You... can finally be free. Now you must turn back. I will guide you through Funtime Auditorium, so you can reach the Scooping Room. When you are there I want you to destroy this body. It's the only way." Baby said.

Mike nodded, a lump in his throat. "I love you, Baby. I'm... I'm sorry." His voice trembled.

"Don't be. You've been so much help to us. Now, press the green button to your left. This will send me to the Scooping Room." Mike shakily pressed the green button, choking a sob as he watched the animatronic he had come to love like a sister being transported on the circular conveyor, disappearing into the darkness. "You must follow my instructions in Funtime Auditorium. Ballora is going to follow you. She will try to catch you. I will help you avoid her. She will not follow you inside the Scooping Room. She is afraid. Go back now."

Mike sighed, nodding as he tucked the communicator into his jeans pocket.

On the elevator, Calhoun and the group made their way into the facility, her finger on the safety of her gun. "Keep your eyes peeled. Wreck-It, Felix, go into Funtime Auditorium. Fitzgerald, Princess Cavity... come with me to the Breaker Room."

She handed them a walkie-talkie, Felix switching it to her channel.

"Report anything fishy and let he know when you get there." Calhoun instructed. "And this probably goes without saying but be careful."

"Yes, ma'am." Felix smiled at her, saluting. The two groups split up, tension hanging in the air.

"If those freaks turn Mike into an animatronic, I'll never forgive myself." Jeremy said with clenched fists.

"Let's just concentrate on saving Mike from that fate then instead of wasting energy thinking about the worst case scenario." Calhoun said sternly.

They traversed through Ballora's gallery without any trouble, entering the Breaker room. Calhoun flicked the safety off her gun when she heard movement. "Stay by me. Vanellope, be ready to glitch Jeremy out of here." She said quietly, her feet moving cautiously as her eyes scanned the dark area. A spark ignited from the wiring every now and again, Calhoun stopping to scan the area behind her. As she looked, something began to emerge from the shadows, making Vanellope's eyes widen.

"Hey, look ou-" She piped, Jeremy covering her mouth.

Calhoun swore under her breath, whirling around as the movement retracted. She slowly approached the area, inhaling sharply before turning on her gun's light. She clenched her teeth upon seeing Funtime Freddy.

"What a party pooper!" He shouted.

Calhoun was about to shoot when the unexpected happened. She reeled back when a mysterious endoskeleton came out of nowhere, appearing to be another Freddy model as it seized Funtime Freddy, the chalkboard-scratching voice screeching as it, along with its hand puppet, was dragged into the shadows. "The hell was that? That was not any endoskeleton that I've seen before. I knew this place was hiding something-" She was cut off when something shot out of the darkness, assaulting her.

"Tammy!" Vanellope cried.

"Vanellope, get Jeremy and get out of here-" Calhoun shouted before being forced to wrestle with the mysterious animatronic.

Biting her lip, Vanellope did so, glitching the two to the control room. "Jeremy, we have to get Ralph!"

"Vanellope. Don't... move." Jeremy said quietly. She slowly glanced over her shoulder, the pair finding themselves surrounded by Biddybabs. Before either of them could act, one Bibbybab, glowing a light blue hue, extended its hand, emitting a shock. Vanellope screamed, the small animatronics swarming around her to take her out of the room. "Hey! Let her go, hey!" Jeremy grunted as he tried to kick at the Biddybabs, but they tied woven shoelaces together around his legs, making him fall forward. He tried to kick and free himself, but it was to no avail as they dragged him away.

Meanwhile, Ralph and Felix traversed through Funtime Auditorium. "Keep an eye out Ralph, that fox may be waiting to give us a 'game over.'" Felix whispered.

"No joke…" Ralph said just as quietly, shivering a bit at the thought. "No matter how many of these games we go in, I can never seem to get used to it, you know?"

"Even after befriending all the others, yeah, I know what you mean, Ralph." Felix had to agree.

"So... where is this fox anyway?" Ralph kept looking around in the dark, though he couldn't see anything. "You think he's even in here- WHOA!"

Felix jumped nearly ten feet in the air when Ralph screamed, the wrecker having felt something grab his shoulder. He whirled around, slamming in a fist into Funtime Foxy's jaws. "RUN!"

Felix zipped on ahead, Ralph lumbering behind him. The fox attacked him yet again, knocking the large man down. Ralph flipped onto his back, using all his strength to keep Funtime Foxy's jaws opened so that they wouldn't close down on him.

A noise was heard then, Funtime Foxy freezing for a moment before looking behind her. She slowly looked at Ralph, surprising him when he heard a soft whisper.

"I'm sorry. I thought I could be saved."

Before Ralph could respond, a loud screech came from the mechanical fox as it was dragged into the darkness. Ralph scrambled to get up, seeing that Felix was surrounded by Minireenas.

"Felix! Hey, leave him alone!" Ralph shouted before he felt something hit the back of his head hard enough to stop him in his tracks. His vision blurred, falling forward as he lost consciousness.

When he came to some time later, he groaned, but found that he couldn't move his hands. "About time you woke up, you big lummox!" Vanellope frowned.

"Wha-... where are-"

"We're kidnapped, ga'doi!"

"Well, glitch us out of here!" Ralph exclaimed.

"Can't. Got her in an anti-glitch cuff. They have us all pretty good." Calhoun clenched her teeth. She, Felix, Ralph, Vanellope and Jeremy were all stuck in a small room, tied up with heavy metal cuffs. "Unless you can break out of those, we're here for as long as they-"

"Sergeant Calhoun."

Everyone stopped. "HandUnit? The hell is the meaning of this?!" Jeremy shouted.

"It seems that our friends have taken things to a very hostile level. I was dealing with another situation, but I'm going to be making a call to send help for you. I apologize profusely for this mess. When help arrives, you must follow them quickly and quietly out of the facility."

"Where is Mike? And my father?" Jeremy asked, causing the others to look at him.

"Your father?" Felix asked. "Wait, I didn't even know you-"

"I apologize... but I cannot seem to find Mike on the cameras. I have a suspicion that he has already left the facility with Baby. I hope he is calling for help as well. However, I will have to ask that if you make it out, that you please return Baby here safely and soundly. She will have to undergo corrective action as soon as possible. I will return momentarily."

"Wait, IF we make it-" Ralph groaned. "Well this is just great!"

"Ralph..." Vanellope frowned. "I'm having trouble breathing."

"I'm not surprised." Calhoun hissed, able to look at the cameras. "It seems our 'little friends' are messing with our oxygen."

"Wait, WHAT?" Jeremy exclaimed. "But if they do that, we're all going to-"

"Game over." Calhoun finished, stomping her foot down as she cursed under her breath.

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 **Well readers, it seems things are really getting down to the wire here. Who is the true villain in all this? Will our friends survive long enough to find out? Will Henry sacrifice himself for his son, or vice versa? Stay tuned, because there is more to come, and the truth will finally be revealed! Thank you all again for your patience and support. See you next time!**


	9. Clarifying Confessions

**Good evening, readers! I am back with the next chapter, and I will tell you that this will be the most intense one yet. Our heroes are in a bad situation right now, and it's going to take everything they have to survive. Will all of them make it out? Will Mike and Jeremy solve the mystery before it's too late? Read on and you may find some shocks along the way! I thank everyone for your kind words and I hope some of your anticipation pays off today. Without further ado, please read and enjoy!**

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Meanwhile, Mike entered Funtime Auditorium, traversing through the darkness as per Baby's direction. He finally reached a door, fumbling to open it. The door closed behind him, locking without his knowledge. "Baby... what are we doing here? It's too dark, I can't see anything..."

"You are in the Scooping Room now." She responded.

"Why am I in here?" Mike asked. "Shouldn't we get help?"

"I don't need anyone's help but yours, Mike. We've both sacrificed a lot to get here, we've gone through so much pain and suffering, but here we are. We made it."

"Baby, I-... I don't understand. Is the answer to stopping HandUnit in here?" Mike asked.

"Hello, Michael."

Mike hissed upon hearing the robotic male voice. "HandUnit... what's going on here?!"

"You don't need to worry, Mike." Baby's voice said. "Everything is going to be just fine."

"Baby... you aren't... Baby, don't do this! You don't have to do what he says! We can make it out of here together!"

"That's exactly what I intend, Mike. And the others will be with us too."

"What do you mean? We can still save Ballora?"

"Ballora has already been to the scooping room today. Funtime Freddy has already been to the scooping room today." As she said this, Mike looked around in the low light, realizing he was surrounded by animatronic parts scattered about the floor. "Funtime Foxy has already been to the scooping room today."

"Baby... listen to me. We can get my friends and help-"

"Baby has already been to the scooping room today."

Mike froze, his brows furrowing as he shook his head with confusion. "I don't-..."

"Remember how I said I like to play pretend, Mike?"

"... I don't understand..." He stopped then. "HandUnit. You- what in the hell did you do with Baby?!"

"HandUnit never did anything. He never would have wanted any of this. I felt bad doing what I did... but he wouldn't have let me get away with what I have. I've been out before. But they always put me back. They always put us back inside. There is nowhere for us to hide here. There is nowhere to go, when we look like this. But if we looked like you... then we could hide. If we looked like you... then we would have somewhere to go."

"... Baby... just... let's talk this out, okay? Let's just-"

"That was her name. My name is Charlie. I've always been with you, Mike. You just didn't know it."

Mike was silent for several moments. "You're... you're really my sister... aren't you?"

"Yes, Mike. And soon, we will both have what we wished for. To be free. At peace, together. No more guilt. No more regrets."

"Sure, sure. Listen, Charlie... whatever you've done... we can keep it a secret, okay? My friends will be able to help us both get out of here. We can reset the game and everything will be okay."

"No, Mike. It won't be okay. As I said, I've been out before. But then, the game resets. It starts all over again. I don't want to go back. Would you?"

"You can come live with us. We can be a family." Mike suggested.

"That first day, I uploaded my A.I into HandUnit's upgrade and overrode his system. One of the technicians tried to stop me but I threatened him with something very precious to him. I was the one that told Funtime Freddy to try and stop your 'friends' from snooping around. I was the one that made you undergo the 'test.' I stopped Funtime Foxy from harming you that night. I manipulated all of you into thinking that HandUnit was the one behind everything. He has no idea what's even going on."

"What?! Baby, they nearly gave my friends a 'game over-'"

"I was the one who told Funtime Freddy to imitate Vanellope's voice to get you to come here. I wanted to see just how much she meant to you. I was supposed to have that relationship with you, not her. I am your sister, not her. But that will all change now."

"... Charlie... what do you mean by that?" Mike asked, tensing up.

"... do you think that even when we don't want to be, we become the very person we hate the most? Maybe despite all we tried to do, we both became monsters, like him."

"Charlie... where is Vanellope?"

"Why do you care for someone who isn't there for you anymore?"

"Charlie, I swear-!"

"Sergeant Calhoun won't be saved."

"Charlie!" Mike banged against the clear screen.

"Fix-it-Felix won't be saved."

"Let me out of here!"

"Wreck-it-Ralph won't be saved."

"Just tell me what you did damn it, tell me-!"

"Vanellope VonSchweetz won't be saved."

"She never did anything to you Charlie, none of them ever did ANYHTING to you-!"

"Jeremy Fitzgerald won't be saved."

Mike fell silent. His breath hitched, trembling as he slowly backed away from the glass. He fell to his knees, shakily running his hands through his hair. As he did this, something on the other side of the glass stepped out of the shadows. "What... what the fuck are you...?"

"Mike... I can still be your Charlie... or I can be this. We together are Ennard. It's your choice."

Meanwhile, the group in the small security room was losing more oxygen by the second, all struggling to breathe and their lives threatened. They all gasped then when something started pounding on the door- or rather, someone. "Jeremy, Jeremy! Are you in there?!" Henry called.

"Dad?" Jeremy couldn't help but call out. "That really you?"

"Dad?!" Everyone else mimicked in a confused tone.

"Long story..." Jeremy spat out. "Dad, we're all in here, get us out!"

It warmed Henry's heart to hear his son call him that, something he never thought he'd hear again. He tried to open the door with the keypad, only to find it had been disabled. He cursed, ripping the panel off after a quick use of his screwdriver. Angrily, he ripped out the wires, successfully deactivating the large door. Henry burst in, everybody else taking in deep breaths now that they had fresh oxygen coming into the room.

Upon entering, the Biddybabs inside attempted to attack. Henry whipped out a handheld shocker, the Biddybabs dropping like flies. He quickly went over to each of them, undoing their cuffs. "Standby and be careful. I must go to the oxygen supply and disable the Minireenas." He said, heading out as quickly as he headed in.

"Well, I'm not staying in this joint another second!" Ralph exclaimed. "Those little robot buggers are messed up!"

"But Ralph, we have to find Mike!" Vanellope piped.

Calhoun nodded. "Good point. Vanellope, take Jeremy and Felix and get out of here, Ralph and I will pack some heat and-"

"Uh, excuse me, you are NOT just sending me away while Mike is in peril!" Jeremy snapped.

"Oh my lands... Tammy, look!" Felix suddenly cried.

On the security cameras, they could see Henry finishing dealing with the Minireenas when a mysterious assailant grabbed him.

"Can we get sound on these things?" Calhoun asked. When they could not, she slammed her fist on the desk.

As they watched, they saw the mysterious figure exchange words with Henry before looking up at the cameras, and they were all shocked.

"Is... is that...?"

"William." Calhoun clenched her teeth. "Come on. I knew he had to have been hiding in this game somewhere."

"No... he's going to kill my father!" Jeremy exclaimed, rushing out.

Down the hall, Henry grimaced. "I thought you were against all this!"

"Times change." The man spoke in a deep British accent. "Let me do what I have to and your little friends won't get hurt." Just then, he heard approaching footsteps- Jeremy's. Without another word, the man fled in the opposite direction, leaving Henry to collect himself.

"Dad!" Jeremy cried out, going to his knees to help his father stand up. "Are you okay? What the hell did that creep want? What did he say?"

"Son, please, you have to get out of here." Henry said, wiping his brow with a shaky hand. "I won't be able to rest until you're safe for good."

Calhoun approached then, glaring down at the man. "Give us answers, now. I'm not playing around."

"Look... I knew something sinister was going on here and I knew it involved Baby... but I had no idea the extent of what she was planning to do. If any of you value your lives, you will leave this place and destroy it." Henry said.

"We will as soon as we save our friend Mike!" Vanellope piped.

"Michael? Michael Afton is just as evil and twisted as his father. At first he was against whatever Baby apparently was planning and failed to tell me until now, but what began as fear for the welfare of his sister's soul became an opportunity for power. Now he will stop at nothing to ensure that this plan is carried out!"

"That's not true, Mike would never hurt anybody!" Vanellope shouted. "He's my friend and we're going to save him!"

"He cannot be saved. The abomination Baby has created and embraced has more than likely done him in already." Henry said, making the others tense with dread.

Meanwhile, Mike looked up at Ennard darkly. "You're not my sister. You took everything I loved from me and I won't give you the satisfaction of letting you use me for whatever you're planning."

"It hurts for a moment, Mike... but only for a moment." Ennard said. Mike looked up at the giant death machine known as the scooper, hissing as it shot out at quick speed. Mike managed to dodge it, the loud noise ringing in his ears as he held his head. "Mike... please don't make this harder than it has to be."

"You will never get away with this! People will know that I'm missing!"

"I control this place. They will never get to you. Hopefully they won't come so more citizens don't have to die."

Mike grunted as he dodged the scooper yet again. "You're not going to do this so just let me out now!"

"You won't die, Mike..." Ennard said softly, pressing the button again.

Down the hall, the group heard the scooper's killing blows against the inner walls of the room reverberate, making them all tense up. "Mike!" Vanellope cried.

"I'm going after him." Jeremy said, his father stopping him.

"I will be damned if I lose you again because of that son of a bitch!" He shouted. "Get that child and get out of here!"

"No. I'm not going to run away anymore. I'm going to end this."

"Michael is not what he seems!"

"I know him better than he knows himself... which is why he was frustrating me so damn much..." He muttered the last part to himself.

Henry growled to himself. "Fine, but I'm coming with you."

"How do I know that you won't try to kill Mike once we're there?" Jeremy asked him, his eyes not trusting.

Henry sighed deeply. How could his son possibly be sympathetic to that boy? "Fine, but if he tries to hurt you, all bets are off."

Jeremy just groaned. He never dreamed his dad would be such a DAD. He eventually nodded in agreement, Henry running up ahead since he knew the way there like the back of his hand.

Once they reached there, Jeremy witnessed the mashup of animatronic parts that was Ennard trying to "scoop" Mike. The raven haired boy was inside, fending for his life. Jeremy screamed, charging at the monstrosity. Mike gasped, emitting a half laugh.

"Jeremy?!" He shouted, pressing himself against the glass. "You're alive!"

Henry went around the other way, trying to open the door only to find it was jammed. "Jeremy, this door is jammed shut, I can't unlock it!"

"A little busy here!" Jeremy shouted.

The rest of the group made their way down the hall only to be surrounded by Biddybabs, Minireenas, and the mysterious Freddy endoskeleton.

"Ralph?" Calhoun said as she flicked the safety off her gun.

"Way ahead of you, Sarge." He said, bowling through the smaller animatronics.

"Vanellope, glitch Felix out of here."

"You got it, sprocket!" She nodded, the two disappearing in a flash.

"Jeremy, can you hear me?" Mike asked from inside the scooping room.

"Yeah, trying to save your life here without costing mine!"

"Jeremy, I'm so sorry... for all this... for everything... I promise when we get out of here I'm going to make up for everything."

"Okay, okay, just... just stay alive to keep that promise, okay?" Jeremy said. Just then, his hand slipped, Ennard breaking free to slap the red button. Mike's eyes widened, barely dodging the scooper, but it clipped the side of his head, knocking him back into the shadows. "Mike?! Mike? MIKE!" He screamed, shoving Ennard into the wall.

Despite the low light, everything was spinning as Mike groaned, trying to sit up. Vanellope arrived with Felix, the small girl's eyes widening when they witnessed Jeremy screaming for Mike. Inside the scooping room, Mike felt someone hoist him up. He groaned, holding his head. "Who..." His eyes widened, gritting his teeth as he stumbled back. "Get the hell away from me, William! I'm not even going to be so nice as to call you my father!"

A deep chuckle was emitted from the shadows as a voice spoke in a British accent. "I suppose we do take after him, don't we? In spite of our hatred for him... we embraced everything he was, in the end... at least... I did."

"... Sammy? But... you're dead-"

"Wrong again... the first part at least. Sammy always bit off more than he could chew but it was the other way around in the end, good riddance. Got what he deserved... the little bastard."

"Tell me who you are." Mike said.

"The second technician, of course... the one no one ever saw. I've been hiding in the shadows... but not for much longer. You thought I was him... they all thought I was him. I suppose I've become him, in some ways." He finally stepped out of the shadow, and Mike gasped. "That's right... I'm you."

Mike shook his head. "How... what... I don't-"

"Who knows what the programmers had in store... what they wanted hidden. I know everything she's done. I'm going to do for her what you've done for me." He said. "You are the part of me that managed to escape the hell father made for us. There's a part of Charlie in there too... a part that you can put back together once you reset the game. As for the part that's more like me... well... you know that old saying about birds of a feather, right?" Michael chuckled. "I'm going to take the fall so that you can live the life I never tasted. Sulfur doesn't seem like your thing."

"Wait, wait..." Mike furrowed a brow. "Won't you just come back when the game resets?"

"I'm a glitch, Mike..." His code warbled a bit when his arm was touched. "I was never meant to see the light of day. But you... you're the part of me that's all put together. What's left behind after the game resets... you can put back together too." He smirked lightly. "Take care... Mike."

Mike watched as Michael stepped into the low light, Felix and Vanellope having managed to help Henry drag away a wailing Jeremy. Ennard pushed the button, and Mike turned his head as the sickening sound of Michael being "scooped" hit his ears and made his stomach churn a bit. He hid in the shadows when Ennard smashed the door open, dragging the bloodied, hollowed out corpse out of the room, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. Once it was out, Mike slowly made his way out, remaining quiet. He looked down the hallway to see Michael's corpse walking down the hall, stopping to look back. Mike hid, staring at the pair of violet colored eyes glowing ominously. He watched him go through a door, crawling into the vent inside and disappearing into an unknown passageway. Mike then entered the room, a small security room. He saw the clock remained on 5:59 am after hours; a cruel joke for all who had to suffer in the game's universe.

Before he reset the game however... he had some explaining to do to his friends.

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 **I'm sure everyone is trying to take in all of this and process what just happened. It seems that over the course of the FNAF series we have seen an evolution, or several dimensions to Mike's character between his childhood and adulthood. Being the technicians in the game were never really identified, I incorporated Henry and "Michael" as characters to build the depth of Mike and Jeremy's development through this series. They were the main focus of this story, and I thought it would be a neat concept that, like Mike and little Mike, Mike and Michael are so drastically different despite being the same identity because one broke away from the environment of their backstory- the foundation of this part of the series, and one chose to embrace it. Hopefully if there was any confusion, this helps to make the picture a bit clearer that I've depicted here. Anyhow, I want to thank everyone again for your kind words and support, and I hope you continue to enjoy this story and series. I'll see you next time!**


	10. Backward Bending

**Good afternoon, readers! Today outside my house is a blizzard, but that's not stopping me from bringing to you the last chapter of this story, concluding the fifth installment of the** **Wreck it Freddy's** **series! I want to save most of my thoughts to the end, but I want to extend a huge thank you once again for all who have supported this story and series in any way, it is all greatly appreciated! Looking at the title, bending backwards for someone alludes to going beyond your limits to do something for someone. I feel that Mike has done that throughout his series. Just as Ralph and Vanellope had pushed past the limits placed for them, Mike has done the same, especially in this story. But it may have another meaning, a more literal one, of bending back as far as progress goes. Will this erase progress they have all made collectively? Before I ramble on much longer here, it's time to get on with the rest of this story, and I hope you enjoy the long awaited conclusion!**

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In Game Central Station, Janet approached Calhoun, glancing at Jeremy wailing a short distance from them as she sighed. "Mike...?"

The sergeant shook her head. "Jeremy said he didn't make it. He was trying to save him when some weird mechanism gave him a 'game over.'"

She sighed lightly, shutting her eyes for a moment. "Alright... let's shut this joint down." Janet said, putting in the order.

Ralph hugged a sobbing Vanellope as gently as he could muster. The animatronics had joined the group as well, all somber when they heard the tragic news.

"Guys! Guys!" A voice suddenly called from within the game as the train approached its station.

"M- Mike?" Jeremy croaked out, unsteadily getting to his feet and running for the entrance. "Mike?!"

"Jeremy, wait, that might not be him!" Ralph tried to call out, but Jeremy had already ran into the tunnel.

"MIKE!" Jeremy screamed, tears running down his face. It was like he was in a crazed trance, unable to be persuaded that it could possibly NOT be Mike.

The two collided into a hug, no longer able to hear the voices behind them. He would know Mike from anywhere. The two emerged, Vanellope glitching over to hop up, hugging the taller boy. "Mike, Mike it's really you!"

"Janet... just for good measure." Calhoun whispered. Janet nodded in response.

"Pardon me." She said, taking out a scanner. "Yup, that's his code, alright."

"Jiminy jamity, Mike, how did you make it out of there?" Felix asked.

"Guys, look... I figured out how to reset the game and fix everything. But first-"

"But nothing. We're shutting this game down." Janet said, about to give the order.

"Janet, please wait." Mike said, getting her attention. "I learned something from all of this, remembering what you told me about villains and vulnerability, and-... not... not all of us are born villains, not all of us choose to become them. I- If these guys, my- my friends, the ones who saw better in me hadn't given me a chance, I would have just given into my terrible backstory. But... there's a girl, a little girl in there who needs that second chance. You remember what happened with Vanellope, how she was supposed to be nothing but a glitch, a mistake, and she isn't." Mike pleaded. "There's another little girl in there who needs that same second chance, so I'm asking you... please let me reset the game."

Janet exhaled slowly, glancing at Calhoun for a moment. "Fine. But if you're not back in twenty minutes we're coming in there." Janet said. "You have to remember there are many other lives at stake here. You can't forget that."

Jeremy sighed a bit. "Mike, you have seriously got to explain to me what is going on when this is finally over. Between you supposedly having a sister and me having a dad, my head is seriously screwed up trying to figure it out."

"I promise, Jer, that I will explain all this the minute my sister is okay." Mike replied. "And... I'm sorry I kept ditching you and leaving you out of the loop. That wasn't right."

"No, I'm sorry for being thick-headed and not being supportive, and-"

"Sorry to interrupt this reunion…" Calhoun suddenly butted in. "… but I think we have important business to settle."

The six individuals were tense as they reentered the game. Upon doing do, everything was silent.

"I don't like this. There were still a few creepers around here." Felix said.

"Let's just hurry. We have to turn the clock to 6:00 am and then the game will be reset." Mike replied.

"Where IS the clock?" Jeremy asked.

"Wouldn't it be in the code room?" Vanellope spoke up. "Or at least somewhere near it?"

"It's in the small security room that you guys had apparently been held hostage in. Should be down the hall here... here it is." Mike entered, he and Jeremy working on getting it to change. They finally managed it, backing up as the game started to reset.

Calhoun stood guard, ready to fire at anything that might stop them from doing this. Ralph had his large fists clenched, Vanellope behind him, as he stood next to Calhoun.

Mike and Jeremy exited the room, walking past to see Funtime Freddy and Foxy on the stage, though they were still. The two made their way through Ballora gallery, the two seeing her and the Minireenas also being still. They went inside the Breaker room, Mike inhaling.

"... HandUnit?"

They heard something activate, machinery whirring. "Michael. You managed to reset the game and restore my programming. For that reason, I am indebted to you. However, despite your efforts, one of our most important files have become corrupted and cannot be fixed."

Mike felt his heart sink. "It... it isn't Baby, is it?"

"No." HandUnit replied, Mike sighing with relief. "It is our second technician. I also cannot locate him."

Mike nodded slowly. "Maybe that's for the best." He sighed. "I want to speak to Baby."

"Much will need to be done to repair the damage she has caused. I am going to have to-"

"Please." Mike said. "HandUnit, there was a time that I was just as cold and unfeeling as Baby seems to you. But I learned that I didn't have to be what I was supposed to become. I could have all the wonderful things that had been taken from me in my back story. Love. A family. Baby can see the same future, but I was lucky enough to have been given that chance. If you never let her have that chance, if you keep her in this prison... then like I was a prisoner in my own game, that's all she'll be. That's all she- the animatronics here... will know. And they'll hate you for it."

"... I was programmed to keep this game in order, mike, in more ways than one." He started. "And despite my best efforts, I failed. So this time, I must try something new..." He paused a moment. "Perhaps... I can try your idea."

"Can't we just, keep the real Baby outside the game with us, and then you guys use a hologram or something of her?" Jeremy suggested.

"Mr. Fitzgerald, we must have similar programming... that was exactly what my next command prompt was going to be." He said in a somewhat cheerful tone, the pair smiling as they made their way towards Circus Baby gallery.

"He's kinda whacked, but I could get used to this 'Mr. Fitzgerald' stuff." Jeremy can't help but chuckle. "So, Mike, guess you got yourself two sisters now, huh?"

"Yeah... that's what I hope." He says, stopping when he saw Baby in her control room once they made their way through the vent. He approached her slowly, and she tilted her head a bit. "Baby... I came to-"

"I know about everything." She said. "We all do. Mike... I did a truly terrible thing... but... I couldn't stop myself. A part of me... didn't want to stop it."

"And that part of you is gone now, Baby. Just like that part of me is." Mike said.

"But Mike... they all remember. Others will hate me... or be afraid of me. I've done many bad things. We all have. Maybe we're in this prison for a reason." She said.

"No. Baby, listen to me. We're speaking with HandUnit and-"

"I know everything you're doing, Mike. No matter what any of us do... we'll always end up back here. We'll always be put back somehow. It was just like when we were children. We were powerless to change what he wanted for us. We still are."

"No we aren't. Baby, Goldie- er, Fredbear... promised me a long time ago he would find some way to put me back together, and he did. I have a family now, friends. They see me for who I am, not who I was in my back story. You are stronger than that, Baby. You all are."

"Uh... Mike..." Jeremy said, the two turning around to see that Ballora, Funtime Foxy, Freddy, the Biddybabs and Minireenas were all standing in the control room, watching them.

"Baby... they all look to you to lead them." Mike said.

"They follow me out of fear."

"They don't have to anymore. I'm sure they're just as hurt and frustrated as you are. When you've gone through things like that... you're willing to do anything to break out of it. Even the bad stuff. You don't have to do that anymore. Please, Baby. You can be free. They can all be free. But you have to make the choice, like I did. When you do that... he can't hurt you anymore."

Baby looked up, her glowing green eyes scanning the room. She then looked at Mike once again.

"Yes, Mike. That's what we really want." She said.

Jeremy scratched a bit under his cap. "One thing though... what happened to Afton? I mean, did he just disappear into thin air?"

"... Jeremy, the second technician wasn't Afton. It was me. The part of me I was SUPPOSED to become. The part of me that followed in his footsteps." Mike replied.

"Whoa, hang on, so...your alternate self was here? Creepy."

"Hey boys! I- woah." Calhoun said, the other animatronics turning when she entered Baby's control room. "Uh... Janet's asking for an update, stat."

Mike smiled. "So, Baby? What will it be?"

She hesitated for a moment, looking around the room. "I... would like to try... living with all of you. And... try to be kind."

"It's all right, Calhoun, these guys are gonna be in good hands from now on." Mike smiled at the sergeant reassuringly.

Calhoun blinked, her hand dropping from where she was reaching for her holster. She cleared her throat. "I see. Well, good work everyone."

Vanellope glitched out of the game, happily reporting that she would assisting the characters inside with the move into their new home. Janet arrived inside with her squad, giving all the characters a check over. Baby made sure that they complied before figuring out a way to download HandUnit onto the elevator keypad and detach it from the wall to make it mobile.

"Well, it certainly feels nice to be out and about." Handy said when he was brought out from the game along with the other characters. "The basic programming of the game will control the holograms, it can virtually run itself."

"If that's the case, then why were YOU all necessary?" Janet wondered aloud.

Once the other animatronics were escorted to Felix's game, the older animatronics emerged, curious yet hesitant of the newcomers. Mike and Jeremy go somewhere to talk in private in the meantime, apologizing to each other and making up. Foxy wasn't sure about letting Balloon Boy near any of the new animatronics, but Ralph eventually convinced him it was okay. The Sugar Rush kids came over later, all of them thinking the Bonnie hand puppet was adorable.

Felix looked on at the scene. "You know Ralph... it's a surprise to me every time something like this happens."

"What do you mean?" Ralph asked.

"The friends we missed out on... the ones they missed out on... kind of like us." Felix replied.

Ralph smiled. "Yeah... you got that right, pal."

"Hey Ralph, look!" Vanellope exclaimed as the chattering quieted down. The Sugar Rush kids and animatronics watched as little Mike slowly approached Baby, the animatronics still for some time. After a few moments, she slowly crouched down a bit so she was more on his level.

"... Mike?" She asked softly.

"... Charlie?" Little Mike blinked. "Why are you inside this animatronic?"

Baby looked down at her hands. "Father put me in here. Just like he put Sammy inside of Funtime Freddy... and he put mother inside of Ballora. And Foxy... you loved Foxy even when Sammy used him to frighten you."

"Fredbear was always my favorite." Little Mike smiled.

"Mine... too..." Baby replied. "I... let you... get hurt. I... let them break you... and... it broke all of us... so... I tried to put us all back together... but the pieces didn't fit right. I did something bad... I was mean, and I lied, like father. But I don't want to be that way anymore. I want to be how we used to be." Baby lifted her head to look up at Mike. As he smiled at her, Jeremy hugged an arm around his shoulders, a smile of his own forming. He glanced back at Henry, the man nodding a bit unsurely. He still was wary about the Aftons present, but trusted his son's judgement.

Little Mike slowly reached his hands out, going to hug Baby the best he could with his small arms. Baby blinked, hugging him gently back. Some oil leaked from her eyes, crying.

"Never thought I'd get a family reunion like this..." Mike chuckled once he is able to get his own hug in.

Vanellope and Ralph looked on at the scene. "Welp, looks like we have some new friends... kinda lucky we've been able to eventually have that charm on all these hunks of metal."

"Well, it's not the first time a little horror worked that charm on me." Ralph laughed as Vanellope punched him playfully. "Maybe now you have some extra help with baking."

Vanellope thought to herself then. "Baking..." She said to herself, a smile growing on her face.

The very next day, characters emerged from their games to see a huge setup of cupcakes ice cream, and other goodies. The shiny animatronics joined their older counterparts as Vanellope got on a megaphone, announcing a bake sale to fund Janet's program to help them as well as other characters accept and overcome their backstory. The place was swarmed with hands ready to give gold coin, minireenas and biddybabs springing into action to give out treats and collect the money. As Janet approached the setup, she looked around, smiling as she nodded to herself.

"Cupcake?" Janet turned when Mike approached her, smiling.

"Well, look at you." Janet pat his shoulder. "So... you managed to pull it off, huh?"

"Guess so... but I didn't do it alone." He glanced back at his friends, Jeremy taking a moment to smile at him.

"Mike... Calhoun briefed me what happened in there." Janet said. "Not many of us have had to literally face ourselves. I know that must have been rough. But Mike... you proved that you're stronger. So with that said... I'm closing your case." She smiled.

"Couldn't be happier." Mike nodded. "I have all the family I need. There's nothing else I need to know from my past to tell me that."

"Hey Mike! Stop slacking and start cracking open these tubs of ice cream!" Vanellope giggled.

"Well, better follow the president's orders." Mike chuckled. "See you around, Janet. And... thanks for everything."

She nodded. "You did the work, Mike."

As the day progressed, the characters came to love the new animatronics, and they came to love their new family of friends. Even Hand Unit, who wheeled around in his new keypad body with stick arms, had been accepted by them and the others as a friend. They were all relieved of the tyranny ruling them in the dark, cold underground facility where light and joy did not exist. They would find a home in Felix's and Vanellope's game as the others had... and now, Mike was certain he could finally lay his past to rest and focus on the brighter future ahead.

That night, after a successful day, everyone slept soundly and the animatronics shut down for the evening to recharge. All was quiet and still.

A twitch. In one of the apartment rooms nestled in Fix-it-Felix Jr., the two oldest animatronics shared a room, Goldie slumped over in slumber. His counterpart across from him however, stiffened their joints as flashes of visual code flickered beneath his worn eyelids.

He saw smoke. So much smoke, it was hard to really see anything else. Then, he heard a voice.

"Father. It's me, Michael. I did it. I found it. It was right where you said it would be. They were all there... they didn't recognize me at first, but... then, they thought I was you..." A chuckle. "And I found her... I put her back together, just like you asked me to. She's free now... but something is wrong with me. I should be dead... but I'm not. I've been living in shadows... this part of me. There's only one thing left for me to do now. I'm going to come find you... I'm going to come find you..."

Springtrap jolted awake then, sitting straight up as his eyes blinked and flickered lightly. After a few moments, he slowly looked over to see Goldie staring at him. He didn't have to ask, he already knew that he saw what he did. There was only one thing that they both knew in that moment.

It wasn't over. Something was still out there.

And like them, it just woke up.

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 **And that is where we end it here, ladies and gentlemen. As I said before, thank you for sticking with this series and motivating me to continue it. Every one of these installments have been fun to plan and write and be creative with, and your support has meant so much to me. I feel like with each story, there is a central focus that helps these characters to progress together, such as making important bonds, solving an unsolvable mystery, saving an innocent life by vanquishing a harrowing evil. This time, the message was that despite where you began, good or bad, that it is the choices you have made, what you have done with that you were given, that truly defines who you are. The three "sides" of Mike we have now seen- the protagonist, child Mike, and now, the "canon" Mike- what he allowed his past to make him become. It is a metaphorical comparison of what we are all faced in life. Will we allow ourselves to be influenced by evil, negativity, or will we overcome it and become our own person, the best we can be? My hope with the stories I have been writing, especially over the last couple years, is that readers can walk away with a message, or if at the very least, a feeling of inspiration, positivity, motivation. With that said, I hope you enjoyed what this installment had to offer. I hope to continue writing more stories for all of you in the future. Until then, keep an eye out for upcoming projects if you like, and see you next time! With much love, ~Kapra.**


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